President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday signed an executive order directing 12 federal ministries to recruit 50,000 new civil servants over the next six months, in what the presidency describes as the most significant public sector expansion in a decade.

Targeted sectors

The recruitment will focus on digital services, agriculture extension workers, primary healthcare delivery, and rural infrastructure maintenance. The Ministry of Digital Economy will take the largest share with 12,000 positions, followed by Health with 10,000 and Agriculture with 8,000.

The Head of Service, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, said the positions would be advertised through the Federal Civil Service Commission within 30 days. All applications will be processed through an online portal to reduce opportunities for corruption in the recruitment process.

Youth focus

Candidates between 18 and 35 years of age will receive preferential consideration for 70% of the positions, though the order specifies that merit must remain the primary criterion. The remaining 30% will be open to all qualified Nigerians regardless of age.

"We cannot build a 21st century economy with a 20th century civil service. This expansion is not just about creating jobs — it is about building the state capacity we need to deliver services." — President Tinubu

Youth unemployment in Nigeria currently stands at 33.6% according to the National Bureau of Statistics, with the 15–24 age bracket most severely affected. The presidency estimates the expansion will directly reduce youth unemployment by 1.8 percentage points.