Covid: Only Vaccinated Junior Officers in Federal Civil Service Will Resume December 1st – FG

By Uche Mbah

The Federal Government has approved the full resumption of Junior Civil Servants on grade level 12 and below to resume work Wednesday December 1st after they have been forced to work from home due to COVID-19.

Recall that during the COVID lockdown, the Federal Government directed all junior workers to work from home due to social distancing. Senior officers were reporting for work and this created administrative bottlenecks and resulted in slow pace of productivity.

The Federal Civil Service has not been fully digitalized as most works are done by moving physical files from table to table, a bureaucratic inheritance of the pre colonial era.

Consequently, FG has approved vaccine mandates for all Civil servants under it in compliance with the directive of Presidential steering committee for Covid 19.

The Committee has decreed the vaccine mandate in order to comply with international standards and COVID travel protocols.

Already a new wave of COVID is being announced by the media, with a new variant allegedly found in South Africa.

Many European countries are now restricting travel to and from South Africa, with Portugal leading the way.

Canada has temporarily placed a travel ban on some African countries.

It is believed that it is the public announcement of measures taken by the Government that Nigeria has not been placed on ban by her international neighbors.

In a circular signed by the Head of Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan,dated November 26,2021, FG said all Federal Civil Servants are expected to show proof of vaccination or show a negative COVID 29 PCR test result done within 72 hours prior to resumption.

“All Federal Government employees would, therefore, be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours,” it said, at the same time directing  the staff yet to be vaccinated to proceed to designated centres for immediate vaccination.

“All Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Government Agencies and Extra-Ministerial Offices are enjoined to bring the contents of this circular to to the attention of their staff and ensure strict compliance,”the circular read, noting that as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic,”officers from GL 12 and below were directed to work from home.”

“Following the advice of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, these category of officers are expected to resume duties on Wednesday,1st December, 2021″.