Official Correspondence & Letter Writing

Official Correspondence & Letter Writing

Quick Answer: Nigerian federal civil service correspondence runs on the Registry-and-file system: every subject is assigned a file number, advice between officers is given by minute, and mail is handled through dispatch. An official letter follows a fixed structure — letterhead, reference, salutation, body, complimentary close — and is routed through the chain of command, not sent directly by a junior officer.

The File Number System

Every file in the Registry carries a unique reference (file number) that identifies the ministry, division, subject, and serial. The file number lets any officer retrieve the entire history of a matter in one place. Two conventions are essential for the COMPRO exam:

• Serial pagination: every sheet in a main file is numbered serially, in red ink, top-centre, so that a missing page is immediately obvious (a security and continuity safeguard).
• Appendices are filed 'at back cover' (a.b.c.) and referenced against the main file.

The PSR itself directs that every office keep a copy of the Public Service Rules as part of its inventory (PSR Rule 010106) and protects official documents from unauthorised abstraction: Rule 030417 prohibits any officer from abstracting or copying official documents except in accordance with official routine or with special permission, and Rule 030419 forbids a departing officer from taking any public record without written permission.

The Minute

A minute is 'views, opinions, advice, information or directives expressed in writing during the course of day-to-day work in the office' (Adebayo, 2000). Minutes are written on the file and circulate among officials, bottom-up or top-down, so that every officer handling the file can see the advice tendered and the decisions taken. Common minuting endorsements a candidate must recognise include:

A minute should be concise, factual, and written in the present or past tense; it must never contain personal opinion unconnected to the subject.

Dispatch (Incoming and Outgoing)

The Registry is the office through which all correspondence flows. Its functions include opening of files, recording, classifying, indexing, enclosure of correspondence in files, receipt of incoming correspondence, and dispatch of outgoing correspondence. Incoming mail is stamped with the date of receipt, entered in a register, classified (Open Registry vs. Secret/Confidential Registry), and sent to the appropriate officer for minuting. Outgoing mail passes back through the Registry, which records the dispatch, assigns the dispatch reference, and forwards it by the approved channel. Classified correspondence — graded Restricted, Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret (per the PSR definition of 'Classified Correspondence') — is handled through the Secret/Confidential Registry with restricted access.

Structure of an Official Letter

A standard Nigerian official letter contains, in order:

1. Letterhead — the ministry/extra-ministerial office masthead, which establishes the issuing authority.
2. Reference number — usually MF/HR/1234/V.I/, mirroring the file reference so the reply can be tied to the file.
3. Date — placed below the reference.
4. Addressee — name, designation, and address of the recipient.
5. Salutation — 'Sir,' or 'Dear Sir,' for formal official correspondence.
6. Subject line — a short statement of the matter.
7. Body — the message, in numbered paragraphs where it carries instructions or decisions.
8. Complimentary close — 'Yours faithfully,' when the addressee is named (the convention in official Nigerian correspondence); signed with name and designation beneath.

The letter is then routed through the hierarchy: a junior officer drafts, the head of section minutes a recommendation, the director endorses, and the Permanent Secretary (or other authorised signatory) signs. A junior officer does not sign an official letter addressed outside the ministry except under delegated authority.

Routing Through the Hierarchy and the Registry's Role

Correspondence moves along the chain of command. A letter coming into the ministry is received by the Registry, minuted up to the appropriate directorate, and then travels officer-to-officer by minute until a decision is reached; the response is dispatched through the Registry once signed by the authorised officer. The Registry is therefore both custodian of files and gatekeeper of mail flow — it is not a clerical backwater but the backbone of official record-keeping. Because the Registry controls file movement, it also protects the integrity of the record against unauthorised removal or alteration, a duty reinforced by the National Archives Act 1992 (see Chapter 11 §4) and the Freedom of Information Act 2011 §2, which obliges every public institution to record, keep, and properly organise information about its activities.

Exam tip: The COMPRO exam often tests the distinction between a minute (internal advice on a file) and an official letter (external correspondence). Remember: minutes live on files; letters go outside.