F.G. Ministries, Departments, Commissions, Agencies & Their Functions In Nigeria

Federal Government Ministries, Departments, Commissions, Agencies & Their Functions In Nigeria

Government may simply be defined as the system established to govern a state or community. The government of any state or polity, is also saddled with the responsibility to formulate and make laws, maintain peace and order, provide basic amenities for the citizenry, as well as provide security for the country or nation in question.

The sovereignty of a nation is saddled upon the government of the federation. As it is also the duty of the government to provide jobs and employment for her citizens, the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has established a handful of ministries, departments, agencies, and parastatals to cater of various spheres of the Nigerian society, as well as provide employment of job seekers in Nigeria.

Many people are searching for various Federal Government jobs in Nigeria. Knowing the various departments, ministries and parastatals there are in Nigeria and their core funtions, will help you decide which Nigerian ministry or department you would want to work with, and which you will be qualified to work with, depending on your area of professionalism.

Below, I will share with you, the various ministries, departments and agencies and their functions or duties, i.e., what exactly are they established to do, and what are their jobs? I will also provide links to their websites, so you could stay abreast with the latest information they may publish on their platforms, as well as for easy access to their portals.

The Public Complaints Commission (P.C.C)

P.C.C. stands for Public Complaints Commission. This commission was established to investigate Complaints against the Federal, State and Local governments, Corporate Organizations and their officials/agencies on matters that bother on administrative injustice and to resolve such matters.

Generally speaking, the work of the Public Complaints Commission as enshrined in the Public Complaints Act include: 

• Receiving complaints from the public and investigating the complaints bothering on administrative injustice against MDA’s and companies registered under the companies and allied matters Act. 

• Initiating complaints to redress any social injustice observed anywhere in Nigeria from the aforementioned bodies, to make recommendations to the appropriate authority for actions.

If you notice any injustice in Nigeria, and you would want to make a complaint, the Public Complaints Commission is there to listen to your plight, and take the necessary action.

To make a complaint, or visit the Public Complaints Commission's website for more information, their website is www.pcc.org.ng.

Office of the Auditor General of the Federation

The duty of the office of the Auditor General of the Federation, is to audit the Federation's accounts, and ascertain how public funds were spent, whether for the right purposes, and judiciously or not.

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation is a separate and independent entity whose existence, powers, duties and responsibilities are provided for, under section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

POWER

Section 85(2) of the Constitution of the Federation Republic of Nigeria 1999, provides that the Public Accounts of the Federation and of all Offices and Courts of the Federation shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General who shall submit his report to the National Assembly; and for that purpose, the Auditor-General or any person authorized by him in that regard shall have access to all the books, records, returns and other documents relating to those accounts.

Similarly, section 85(4) of the Constitution stipulate that the Auditor-General shall have power to conduct Periodic Checks on all Government statutory corporations, commissions, authorities, agencies, including all persons and bodies established by an Act of the National Assembly. 

Furthermore, Section 301 vests the Auditor-General of the Federation with the power to audit the account of Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory.

INDEPENDENCE

Section 85(6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, states that “in the exercise of his function under the Constitution, the Auditor General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or person”.


THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE

In accordance to Section 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution, the Auditor-General shall, within 90 days of receipt of the Accountant General’s financial statement, submit his Report to each House of the National Assembly (The Senate and the House of Representatives); and each House shall cause the Report to be considered by a Committee of the House of the National assembly responsible for Public Accounts.

The main function of the Public Accounts Committees is to review whether public money was spent or not for the approved purpose and with due regard to efficiency, economy and effectiveness. Much of its work is based on the Auditor-General’s Report. The Committees hold public sittings to review Audit findings. 

These public sittings are usually attended by the Auditor-General and his team as well as the Accounting Officer (Permanent secretary) of the audited Ministry or Office. 

The Ministry or Office is expected to defend itself on issue(s) reported on and explain what they have done in respect to the report.

The office of the Auditor General of the Federation, has the following departments which carry out various auditing functions:

1. AuGF Office
2. Treasury Audit Department
3. Ministerial Audit Department
4. Education and Research Institutions Audit Department
5. Defence and Security Agencies Audit Department
6. Programme and Performance Audit Department
7. Emerging Issues Audit Department
8. FCT and Area Councils Department
9. Revenue Audit Department
10. Extra-Ministerial Audit Department
11. Health and Allied Institutions Audit Department
12. Legislature Audit Department
13. Judiciary Audit Department
14. Finance and Accounts Department
15. Planning, Research and Documentations Department
16. Human Resources Management Department
17. General Services Department

The website of the Auditor General of the Federation is available at www.oaugf.ng.

Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF)

The Federal Civil Service is saddled with the responsibility of appointing offices to key Federal positions, in Federal Government MDAs.

The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, spearheads the hiring and firing, as well as the training of officers within MDAs to harness the best in them, as well as for the upward development of these officers.

Reiterating further on these key objectives and core functions. OHCSF makes further adduce on its website;

Section 169 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) created the 'Civil Service of the Federation' in the following words; "there shall be a Civil Service of the Federation". 

In addition, the appointment of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation was enshrined in section 171 (1) & (2) (a) thus, "power to appoint persons to hold or act in the offices to which this section applies and to remove persons so appointed from any such office shall vest in the President. 

The offices to which this section applies are, namely: Head of the Civil Service of the Federation". 

Therefore, from the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) are legal entities with juristic personalities as administrative machineries for implementing government policies and programmes with diligence and commitment for advancing the welfare and well-being of the citizenry through the judicious use of human, material and financial resources and qualitative service delivery based on observance of the Rule of Law/ Due Process.

The Federal Civil Service under the leadership of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recognizes the service as the engine of governance with key contributory roles by the private sector as stakeholders in the development process. 

In this regard, the OHCSF creates platforms to promote public/private partnerships in the development of competencies and exchange of professional ideas/ knowledge. 

It also pursues the capacity development of officers through the efforts of the The Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), the Public Service Institute and the Federal Training Centres to harness the staff potentials for self-development and promotion of the common good.

In the pursuit of these objectives as encapsulated in the Vision, Mission and mandate of OHCSF shown below, Government placed the supervision of some Parastatals and Administrative Centres under the OHCSF. 

To visit the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, you will need to go here: www.ohcsf.gov.ng.

In a nutshell, if you are looking for a federal government job, this is the right place to look.