Circulars & Circular Letters

Circulars & Circular Letters

Quick Answer: A circular is a service-wide or group-specific instruction issued by a competent authority; General Circulars go to the whole service, Special Circulars to a defined group, and Circular Letters transmit or accompany circulars to targeted audiences. Under the PSR, every officer must acquaint himself with the Rules and 'other extant regulations and circulars' (Rule 010101), and the PSR preamble confirms that further amendments to the Rules shall be made through circulars issued from time to time.

Types of Circulars

Nigerian administrative practice recognises three broad types:

The OHCSF's online Compendium of Circulars consolidates roughly 980 circulars dating back to 1995, drawn from 25 MDAs — illustrating how circulars function as the routine instrument of service-wide policy.

Issuing Authorities

• Service-wide matters: the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) is the principal issuing authority; the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation issues general circulars affecting the establishment, conditions of service, and procedural rules across MDAs.
• Appointment, promotion, and discipline policy: the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) issues circulars on recruitment examinations, promotion criteria, and disciplinary standards within its statutory remit.
• Departmental matters: a Permanent Secretary (or Head of Extra-Ministerial Office) issues departmental circulars limited to his ministry, typically on internal arrangements, leave rotas, or file-handling.
• Government-wide policy outside the service: a circular may emanate from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) where the matter crosses the service boundary.

Legal Force of Circulars

Two principles coexist and the COMPRO candidate must hold both:

1. Within the service, circulars are binding administrative instructions. PSR Rule 010101 makes it 'the duty of every officer to acquaint himself with the Public Service Rules and other extant regulations and circulars.' The PSR 2008 preamble states plainly that 'further amendments to these Rules shall be made through Circulars, which will be issued from time to time.' Circulars therefore update the PSR between the formal five-yearly reviews, and a serving officer who disregards a circular is in breach of a service obligation.

2. Externally, a circular's legal force depends on its statutory root. Nigerian courts have held that an administrative circular issued without statutory backing 'cannot create an offence' (Governor CBN v Rise Vest Technologies Ltd, Federal High Court, 2021), while a circular issued under an enabling statute can operate as subsidiary legislation that courts take judicial notice of (Evidence Act 2011 §122(2)). The Tax Appeal Tribunal has similarly held that FIRS information circulars 'do not have the force of law and cannot be used to vary, amend, or extend the provisions of law.'

The practical rule for the exam: a circular binds officers within the public service as an administrative instruction, but it cannot override a statute or create a criminal offence unless issued under statutory power.

Circular vs. Regulation / Rule

A Rule sits inside the gazetted PSR; a circular is the live instrument that updates and applies the Rules day to day. When a circular contradicts an earlier Rule, the later circular governs until the next PSR revision absorbs it.

How a Circular Is Cited and Tracked

Each circular carries a reference number showing the issuing authority, year, and serial (e.g., HCSF/LS/007/S.III/T/123). The OHCSF Compendium indexes circulars by year-band (2011–2013, 2014–2015, 2016–2017, etc.) and by subject, so an officer can retrieve the current directive on, say, duty tour allowances or tenure policy in seconds. For the COMPRO exam, remember that a circular's reference is its traceable identity; citing the wrong reference is treated as if the directive does not exist. Officers are expected to confirm they are applying the latest circular on a subject, since superseded circulars remain in the compendium for history but lose binding force once replaced.

Exam tip: If asked who issues a service-wide circular, answer the OHCSF / Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; if asked who issues a departmental circular, answer the Permanent Secretary. If asked whether a circular can create a criminal offence binding the general public, answer no — only where issued under a statute.