The Federal Government has introduced tougher controls over personnel spending, directing all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to submit their enabling acts alongside 2027 budget proposals or risk having their submissions rejected.

The directive, contained in the 2027 Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular dated September 4, 2026, and signed by the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, is aimed at blocking unauthorised agencies, ghost workers and questionable personnel costs from entering the Federal Government’s budget.

The Budget Office said the mandatory submission of establishment acts was necessary to authenticate the legal status of agencies seeking funding and prevent the inclusion of institutions that have no statutory basis in the Federal Government’s budget.

“To further strengthen the budget preparation process and mitigate against any entry of un-established agencies in the FGN Budget, it has become compulsory for MDAs to submit budget proposals along with their respective establishment acts, as failure to do so may lead to rejection,” the circular stated.

The measure represents a significant move to tighten controls around personnel expenditure as the government prepares the 2027 Appropriation Bill, with particular emphasis on payroll validation, recruitment, promotions and staffing across the public service.

Under the new rules, MDAs are required to ensure that salaries and allowances captured in their personnel proposals relate to a legitimate Federal Government employee.

The Budget Office warned that unauthorised personnel payments would attract sanctions, potentially exposing accounting officers and other officials responsible for irregular provisions to accountability measures.

The government also ruled that no personnel cost provision would be made in the 2027 budget for serving Federal Government employees who are not captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) or enrolled on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), except where a specific exemption has been granted.

The requirement effectively places payroll verification at the centre of the 2027 personnel budget process and could force MDAs to reconcile their staffing records with the government’s central payroll and financial management systems before their personnel requests are considered.

For newly recruited employees proposed for inclusion in the 2027 payroll, MDAs must provide documentary evidence, including the required financial clearance or first appointment letter, as well as recruitment waiver or clearance where applicable.

The circular further barred MDAs from making budget provisions for anticipated promotions, insisting that only promotions that have already been approved and taken effect should be reflected in their personnel proposals.

Funding for promotions that will take effect in 2027 will instead be provided centrally through the Service-Wide Vote, preventing MDAs from independently inflating personnel estimates based on promotions that have yet to be approved.

The latest controls are expected to put greater pressure on MDAs to clean up their personnel records, authenticate their institutional mandates and ensure that proposed expenditure is backed by appropriate legal and administrative documentation before the 2027 budget is submitted.