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EXCLUSIVE: NEPC Withdraws Abolished APER Directive After SaharaReporters Exposé, Staff Raise Fresh Promotion Concerns
EXCLUSIVE: NEPC Withdraws Abolished APER Directive After SaharaReporters Exposé, Staff Raise Fresh Promotion Concerns
CORRUPTION
The Nigerian Record
9/6/20264 min read
The management of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), led by Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Nonye Ayeni, has withdrawn its directive requiring staff to use the abolished Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) form for the 2026 promotion exercise, less than 24 hours after SaharaReporters exposed the directive.
The reversal has, however, triggered fresh concerns among staff over the transparency of the promotion exercise, particularly as the list of candidates eligible to take the 2026 promotion examination has yet to be released just days before the exercise.
SaharaReporters had reported that an internal circular dated September 1, 2026, directed staff due for promotion to complete APER forms despite a Federal Government directive abolishing the system and replacing it with the Performance Management System (PMS).
The circular instructed affected staff to "fill and submit the required numbers of APER forms to be assessed by their supervisors and use as inputs in scoring staff performances in the Performance Management Systems structure and template."
NEPC spokesperson Aliu Seidu Sadiq had defended the directive, saying the transition from APER to PMS was still ongoing.
According to Sadiq, "there is no fixed compliance deadline."
He added that implementing PMS "requires software infrastructure and other resources," describing the process as "a gradual process to phase out the APER form from the system."
However, checks by SaharaReporters showed that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had issued a December 21, 2022 circular directing that APER be abolished and PMS take effect from January 1, 2023.
On September 3, NEPC issued another circular withdrawing the earlier directive and ordering staff to stop using and submitting APER forms.
Signed by Lawal Shehu Dalhat, Director of the Policy & Strategy Department, on behalf of the CEO, the circular said the earlier directive was intended to use APER assessments as inputs into the PMS structure.
"Consequently, the previous circular issued in this respect is therefore withdrawn, hence, all affected staff are hereby required to stop the administration and submission of the APER form for any assessment as the Council has now upgraded its Performance Management System (PMS) structure to take care of the earlier identified assessment gaps," it stated.
The circular added: "Based on the above, all affected officers should discontinue the administration and submission of APER form for assessment forthwith."
The sudden reversal has raised questions among staff, particularly over the Council's earlier explanation that PMS implementation required additional software infrastructure and resources.
One staff member questioned how the Council could upgrade its PMS within less than 24 hours.
"If not, how can you explain the earlier statement by the NEPC spokesperson that the implementation of the PMS is a gradual process that 'requires software infrastructure and other resources', only for the NEPC to issue another memo indicating that 'the Council has now upgraded its Performance Management System (PMS) to take care of the earlier assessment gaps' in less than 24 hours?" the staff member asked.
"Are you saying it took less than 24 hours to upgrade the software infrastructure and implement the PMS?
"These are the contradictions and confusion permeating the administrative processes of the Council, which cast doubt and question the sincerity of the whole process."
Another staff member asked whether management was unaware that APER had been abolished.
"Was the management unaware that APER had been abolished? Were the relevant officers who understand the examination procedure consulted before the directive was issued? Or was the process simply being handled without adequate knowledge of the applicable rules?" the staff member asked.
Delay In Release Of Eligibility List
Meanwhile, staff members have raised concerns over the failure to release the list of candidates cleared to sit for the 2026 promotion examination.
A top Council official described the delay as unusual, noting that previous promotion exercises typically included the list of eligible candidates alongside the notification circular.
One staff member said the list was important because being due for promotion did not necessarily mean an officer was qualified to take the examination.
"A candidate can be due for promotion without being qualified. The list is therefore very important in clarifying this," the staff member said.
Staff members fear that the absence of a final list could create uncertainty over eligibility and potentially allow names to be added or removed without adequate scrutiny.
Their concerns were also linked to alleged controversies surrounding the 2025 promotion exercise, when staff claimed that the name of Abayomi Akodu and other officers they described as unqualified were added to the eligibility list. The matter reportedly attracted the intervention of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
"Is history about to repeat itself?" one staff member asked.
Another staff member attributed some of the Council's current administrative challenges to the transfer of experienced personnel from its headquarters.
"All these discrepancies in the NEPC are occurring because the experienced staff with good institutional memory were all transferred out of headquarters by Mrs. Ayeni. This has exposed the weaknesses being experienced at the NEPC," the staff member alleged.
The staff member called for equal treatment of all candidates, saying: "Every candidate who is participating in the promotion process deserves to know that everyone sitting for the examination has met the same requirements.
"They deserve to know that the rules are not being skewed in favour of a chosen few.
"Most importantly, they require assurance that those saddled with the responsibility of administering the examination are not only fair to all but also understand the process."
A senior staff member also expressed concern about the conduct of the examination, recalling that last year's exercise was reportedly held around 1:00 a.m.
"Apart from these issues, I hope they will not ask staff to write the exams late in the night like last year, where the exam was written around 1:00 a.m., which left many people, including a pregnant woman, stranded," the staff member said.
Another staff member alleged that the challenges could be intended to frustrate the process and favour certain candidates.
"All these challenges are introduced to subvert the process and promote her cronies," the staff member said.
The allegations by the staff members have not been independently established, while NEPC management has not publicly responded to the specific claims.
Staff members are now seeking clarification on why the initial APER directive was issued, who approved it, why it was withdrawn after becoming public, how the PMS was upgraded within such a short period, and why the 2026 eligibility list has yet to be released.
They are also demanding assurances that the promotion exercise will be conducted transparently, fairly and without manipulation.