By Joyce Ekeh
The Federal Government has moved to tighten recruitment controls in federal universities, directing vice-chancellors to justify manpower requests with demonstrable staffing needs, labour-market demand and national human capital development priorities.
The directive, issued by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, comes amid concerns over rising manpower requests by tertiary institutions and the growing financial burden such demands place on the Federal Government’s personnel budget.
Under the new guidelines, federal universities must prioritise filling vacancies created by staff attrition, while additional recruitment to support new courses, programmes or institutional expansion will be subjected to stricter scrutiny.
Alausa, in a letter dated October 19, 2026, addressed to vice-chancellors of all federal universities, expressed concern that many institutions were submitting manpower requests without adequately considering the financial implications for the Federal Government.
He said the existing arrangement had disconnected universities’ manpower demands from the additional personnel costs, which are entirely borne by the Federal Government.
The minister also faulted the pattern of requests for additional staff to support courses that do not adequately respond to Nigeria’s labour-market demands.
According to him, some institutional requests do not align with national human capital development priorities or existing gaps in the labour market.
To address the concerns, Alausa directed vice-chancellors to ensure that all manpower requests henceforth undergo strict vetting based on two principal considerations: vacancies arising from staff attrition and requests for additional recruitment.
Under the first category, institutions are expected to seek approval to fill vacancies resulting from retirement, resignation, death, dismissal or transfer of existing personnel.
However, requests for recruitment beyond the replacement of departing staff must satisfy additional requirements.
The minister said institutions seeking additional personnel for new courses, programmes or expansion must provide clear evidence of market demand, graduate employability and the programmes’ relevance to Nigeria’s human capital development.
Universities must also demonstrate that proposed courses are unique and do not duplicate programmes already offered by other institutions.
The directive effectively places greater emphasis on the justification for additional staffing, particularly where universities seek to recruit personnel to support academic programmes whose relevance to national development or employment opportunities may be questioned.
Alausa said the measures were necessary to promote prudence, efficiency and strategic manpower planning across the education sector.
He urged the vice-chancellors to comply fully with the new requirements.
Copies of the directive were sent to the Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Education, Accountant-General of the Federation, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Director-General of the Budget Office and Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, among other officials.
The National Universities Commission and the Federal Ministry of Education are among the key institutions copied on the directive, which places university manpower planning within a broader framework of public expenditure control and national workforce priorities.
