The Federal Government has fixed September 18, 2026, as the deadline for ministries, departments and agencies to submit their personnel cost proposals for the 2027 budget.

The directive is part of the government’s plan to present the 2027 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in September and improve the country’s budget cycle.

Politics Nigeria gathered that the deadline was contained in the 2027 Personnel Costs Budget Call Circular issued by the Budget Office of the Federation and signed by its Director-General, Tanimu Yakubu.

Under the new timetable, MDAs are expected to submit both hard and electronic copies of their personnel budget proposals and other required documents by 4pm on Friday, September 18.

The Federal Government said the early preparation of the spending plan was necessary to keep the 2027 budget process on schedule.

It disclosed that the draft 2027-2029 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper had already been concluded in July.

“As you are aware, the 2027-2029 draft Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper was concluded by July 2026 in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 to facilitate the submission of 2027 Budget to the National Assembly by September 2026,” the Budget Office said.

The move is also coming against the background of repeated concerns over Nigeria’s budget cycle, particularly the late passage and implementation of annual budgets.

In recent years, delays in the preparation, approval and implementation of federal budgets have resulted in overlaps between fiscal years.

The Federal Government has consequently been seeking ways to return the country to a more predictable budget calendar.

The 2027 process is also being tightened following controversies surrounding the preparation and implementation of previous budgets.

One of the major issues that attracted attention was the inclusion of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

The disputed council was allocated about N1.3bn despite the Presidency later saying that it was not a recognised Federal Government agency.

The controversy led to investigations by the National Assembly and anti-corruption authorities.

The House of Representatives subsequently constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate how the organisation secured a budgetary provision despite questions over its legal status.

The Budget Office later told lawmakers that no money had been released from the N1.3bn provision because the conditions required for the release of public funds had not been fulfilled.

The 2027 budget circular has now introduced a requirement aimed at preventing a repeat of such a situation.

MDAs must submit the laws establishing them along with their budget proposals.

The Budget Office warned that proposals submitted without the relevant Establishment Acts could be rejected.

“To further strengthen the budget preparation process and mitigate against any entry of unestablished 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 requirement places greater responsibility on accounting officers and heads of government institutions to establish the legal basis of agencies seeking public funds.

The Budget Office is also tightening controls over personnel expenditure.

MDAs have been warned against making provisions for salaries and allowances of people who are not legitimate Federal Government employees.

“MDAs should note that payment of salaries and allowances are for legitimate employees of the FGN only. Any unauthorised payments from the personnel costs budget will attract appropriate sanctions,” the circular stated.

The government directed MDAs to reconcile their payroll information with records contained in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System.

Under the directive, personnel costs will generally not be provided in the 2027 budget for Federal Government employees who are not captured on IPPIS or enrolled on GIFMIS, except where an employee has been specifically exempted by the appropriate authority.

MDAs have also been instructed to use only salary structures and allowances approved by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

They are expected to verify the grade levels and steps of workers before submitting their personnel proposals.

The directive also affects promotions.

MDAs have been told not to make budgetary provisions for promotions that are only expected to take place in 2027.

Only promotions that have already been approved and are effective before the personnel budget is finalised should be reflected in the proposals.

The Budget Office said funding for promotions that take effect during 2027 would instead be provided centrally through the Service-Wide Vote under Payment for Promotion and Salary Arrears in the Service.

New recruitment will also face additional scrutiny.

Government agencies seeking to provide for newly recruited workers must submit relevant supporting documents, including financial clearance, letters of first appointment and applicable recruitment waivers or clearances.

The Budget Office warned that it would not accept claims arising from salary shortfalls or payroll lock-outs caused by unauthorised recruitment.

The government also excluded several categories of workers from the permanent personnel rolls of MDAs.

Consultants, contract workers, youth corps members, industrial attachment students, outsourced service providers and legionnaires are not to be listed as permanent or pensionable Federal Government employees.

Non-executive board members are also excluded from nominal rolls. Their allowances and fees are expected to be provided under the overhead expenditure of the relevant institutions.

The circular further clarified the treatment of National Youth Service Corps members.

Their allowances are to be provided centrally through the NYSC budget, although MDAs may provide additional allowances from their overhead allocations where applicable.

The government is paying particular attention to personnel records in the health and education sectors.

Federal health institutions have been directed to observe approved limits and quotas for interns and honorary consultants.

The Budget Office also warned against multiple budgetary entries for the same consultant or lecturer in different government institutions.

Where such duplication is discovered, the affected person is expected to be removed from the payroll of institutions other than the person’s primary place of employment.

“The staff of outsourced service providers must not be included in the nominal roll. Inclusion of staff of outsourced service providers in MDAs payroll will henceforth be regarded as willful fraudulent action, and shall be reported to relevant authorities accordingly,” the circular warned.

The government also introduced requirements for the authentication of interns in federal health institutions.

Registration or licence numbers are expected to be provided before interns can be included in budget proposals.

The recruitment and deployment of house officers and nursing interns will also remain under the relevant professional regulatory bodies.

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria will handle the relevant arrangements for house officers, while the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria will handle those relating to nursing interns.

Hospitals that independently recruit or post such personnel without following the approved process could face sanctions.

The government said chief medical directors and medical directors could be held responsible for unauthorised recruitment.

Beyond payroll controls, the Budget Office plans to strengthen monitoring of personnel expenditure after the 2027 budget is approved.

A centralised Personnel Cost Monitoring Dashboard will be deployed to link personnel expenditure information with IPPIS and GIFMIS.

The system is expected to allow government to monitor actual personnel spending against approved budget provisions.

A Payroll Discrepancy Resolution Committee will also meet monthly to address differences between records submitted by MDAs and information contained in government payroll systems.

Requests involving salary and promotion arrears will be considered quarterly by a standing committee domiciled in the Budget Office.

MDAs have also been instructed to establish joint human resources and budget personnel cost teams.

The teams are expected to ensure that staffing decisions are properly reflected in budget submissions.

Another requirement is the submission of third-quarter personnel budget performance reports.

The reports must reach the Budget Office by September 30, 2026, and will be used to improve personnel planning.

The government has also directed MDAs to make appropriate provisions for nutrition-related programmes and Early Childhood Development initiatives.

Accounting officers and heads of government institutions will have to take direct responsibility for the accuracy of the figures submitted.

Ministers, chief executives and accounting officers are required to initial every page of the hard copies of their 2027 personnel budget proposals and accompanying templates.

They are also expected to certify that the information contained in the documents is accurate.