Malik Yahya/
President Bola Tinubu’s newly appointed Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, could have only a few months in office before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 in December 2026.
Enitan, who was sworn in by the President at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday, August 27, was born on December 12, 1966, meaning he will turn 60 barely three and a half months after assuming one of the most powerful administrative positions in the Federal Government.
The development raises an intriguing question over the duration of his tenure, particularly as his immediate predecessor, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, retired after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60.
Tinubu had named Enitan, then the most senior Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service, as the new Head of Service on August 19, 2026.
His swearing-in formally marked the commencement of his tenure as Nigeria’s Chief Administrative Officer.
But with Enitan due to celebrate his 60th birthday on December 12, his appointment appears set to be unusually brief unless a different tenure provision applies to his office.
At Thursday’s ceremony, Tinubu congratulated Enitan and charged him to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, accountability and efficiency in the Nigerian Civil Service.
Walson-Jack attended the ceremony alongside her husband, Nimi Walson-Jack; Enitan’s wife, Olawunmi Ololade Enitan; and the Permanent Secretary, State House, Peter Fashedemi.
An indigene of Osun State, Enitan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos and a Master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
He joined the Federal Civil Service in 1998 as a Senior Operations Officer at the now-defunct Family Economic Advancement Programme.
Enitan subsequently served at the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs before being posted to the Office of the Vice-President in the State House, where he worked as Chief Administrative Officer and rose to the rank of Director between 2010 and 2018.
He was appointed Permanent Secretary in December 2018 and posted to the Federal Civil Service Commission.
His career as Permanent Secretary also took him through the Ministries of Environment, Police Affairs, Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, and Education before his elevation as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
Tinubu’s administration said the appointment was intended to strengthen professionalism, integrity, accountability and efficiency across the service.
However, Enitan’s December birthday puts the spotlight on the tenure question surrounding the new appointment.
Under the general public service retirement framework, career civil servants are ordinarily required to retire upon attaining 60 years of age or 35 years of pensionable service, whichever comes first, subject to applicable rules and statutory exceptions.
Enitan, who entered the Federal Civil Service in 1998, has not reached 35 years of service. But he will attain the age threshold on December 12.
That leaves the new Head of Service with a potentially compressed window to drive the administration’s civil service agenda, and could mean President Tinubu will have to confront another succession decision at the pinnacle of the Federal Civil Service before the end of the year.
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