By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Federal Government has moved to enforce compliance with the latest redeployment of Treasury officers, warning Ministries, Departments and Agencies that they could lose access to critical government payment systems if they frustrate the exercise.
The warning was contained in a circular issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on September 4, 2026, ordering the immediate redeployment of 43 Treasury officials to various MDAs.
Rather than treating the postings as a routine administrative exercise, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation attached serious operational consequences to non-compliance, including the blocking of accounts and access rights on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System and the Remita payment gateway.
The affected personnel include deputy directors, assistant directors and officers across different cadres within the Accountant-General’s Treasury pool.
According to the circular, the redeployment is part of efforts to strengthen the financial management structure across government and improve service delivery.
The OAGF said the exercise was being undertaken “further to the need to rejig the financial operations across Ministries, Departments and Agencies for improved performance, and to enhance greater efficiency in service delivery.”
The affected officers were directed to comply with their new postings immediately, with the Federal Government setting September 18, 2026, as the deadline for completing the required handover and takeover processes.
“It is important to emphasise that this posting instruction takes immediate effect and all handing/taking over processes must be completed on or before Friday, 18th September, 2026,” the circular stated.
The OAGF also warned the redeployed officials that refusal to comply with the directive could attract disciplinary measures under the Public Service Rules.
“All officers concerned are reminded that failure to adhere to this Posting Instruction contravenes the provisions of the Public Service Rule 100301(b) and will be met with severe sanctions,” it stated.
However, the government’s strongest sanction was reserved for MDAs that attempt to block the movement of Treasury personnel.
The circular specifically warned that an organisation could face restrictions on its financial operations if it refused to accept officers newly assigned to it or prevented officers being transferred from vacating their previous positions.
“Any MDA that either denies the newly deployed Treasury Officers from assuming duties as contained in the Posting Instruction or prevents the redeployed officers from vacating their existing duty posts shall have their accounts and access rights on both the GIFMIS application and Remita payment gateway blocked, and role players deactivated.”
The directive means that MDAs that fail to cooperate could potentially face disruption to their access to government’s central financial management and payment infrastructure.
The OAGF said the sanctions would be implemented in line with existing Treasury directives, citing Federal Treasury Circular Ref. No. HMFBN/MDAs/FEDERAL TREASURY CIRCULAR/01/2023, dated January 26, 2023.
It also referenced Treasury Circular Ref. No. TRO/865/VOL.XVI, dated November 8, 2023, which it said further reinforced the earlier directive.
The redeployment covers Treasury officials posted to several strategic government institutions.
They include the State House, Office of the Vice President, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Interior.
Other affected institutions include the Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Civil Service Commission, Federal Character Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Nigeria Revenue Service, National Population Commission, Rural Electrification Agency, National Social Investment Programme Agency, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The OAGF further assigned its Director of Administration responsibility for monitoring compliance with the directive.
“Accordingly, the Director of Administration, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, shall monitor compliance and ensure that all Treasury officers affected by this circular submit their Assumption of Duty Certificates to the Office of the undersigned on or before Friday, 18th September, 2026,” it stated.
The latest directive underscores the strategic role of Treasury officers in the Federal Government’s financial administration, particularly as government increasingly relies on centralised digital systems for financial transactions, monitoring and accountability.
GIFMIS serves as a key platform for managing government financial operations, while Remita is used extensively for government-related payments and collections.
By tying access to both systems to compliance with the redeployment order, the OAGF has placed pressure on both the affected officers and their host institutions to complete the transition within the stipulated timeframe.
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