"Do Not Engage In Any Other Business Apart From Farming"- Head Of Civil Service Warns Public Officials

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, has warned civil servants in the country to adhere strictly to the provisions of the law, which forbids public officers from engaging in private practice.

In a circular titled: "Code of Conduct for Public Officers", issued from his office and sent to all Ministries, Department and Agencies of the Federal Government, Aji reiterated the observation made at the 37th meeting of the National Council on Establishments that "some public servants engage in private practice to the detriments of the services they were employed to render to the public."



He also drew the attention of all public officers to adhere to Part 1, Fifth Schedule, Section 2 (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that "without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, a public officer shall not, except where he is NOT employed on full-time basis engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade, but nothing in this sub-paragraph shall prevent a public officer from engaging in farming."

According to the Head of Service, failure to comply with this directive by civil servants would not only be regarded as an unconstitutional act, but also an act of misconduct under the Public Service Rules.