The Lagos State Government has closed the window for staff seeking adjustment to the documents tender before it before employment which bears their age and birth certificate.
It stated that any staff requesting a change on date of birth within the public service will not be allowed anymore and such request would be treated as an act of serious misconduct.
The government in a circular with Ref. No: CIR/HOS/125/Vol.1/063 sent to the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) stressed that only genuine errors in birth records of Officers would be adjusted without any penalties.
In the circular signed by the Head of Service, Bode Agoro, and sighted by The Guild correspondent on Friday, the state government stressed the decision was taken after discovering that many officers have been submitting inconsistent and questionable documents to support their demands for altering their official birth records.
It added that embargo was placed considering that it was the government’s responsibility to maintain accurate and reliable human resource information in the state.
To justify its claim, the government referenced Public Service Rule 020108 (ii) of 2015, which explicitly states: “Date of birth recorded on appointment by an Officer shall not be changed throughout the Career of the Officer. Any contravention to this Rule shall be regarded as an act of serious misconduct.”
It stressed that any civil servant attempting to manipulate their age records will be deemed guilty of serious misconduct, with strict disciplinary actions to follow.
According to the circular, “It has been observed with deep concern, the upsurge in the requests for Change of Dates of Birth by Officers across the State Public Service with most of the documents presented as justification for the requests in this regard largely inconsistent with the documents submitted at the point of entry into the Service.
“However, the Civil Service Commission, given the repository mandate of the State Public Service Human Resource Information Management, is not averse to the correction of genuine errors in birth records of Officers.
“Pursuant to the Public Service Rule 020108 (ii) of 2015, which states that “Date of birth recorded on appointment by an Officer shall not be changed throughout the Career of the Officer. Any contravention to this Rule shall be regarded as an act of serious misconduct”, it is hereby notified for general information that henceforth, any frivolous request for Change of Dates of Birth by Officers across the State Public Service would be regarded as inappropriate and be treated as an act of serious misconduct”.
