Thousands of federal civil servants have been ordered to work from home on Friday as the ruling All Progressives Congress closes down access to the seat of federal governance for its national convention.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service announced Thursday that all roads leading to and around the Federal Secretariat Complex will be sealed from Friday, March 27, to Saturday, March 28, forcing workers in Phases I, II, and III of the complex, as well as staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to stay home.
The reason: Eagle Square, the convention venue, sits adjacent to the Federal Secretariat. And the party’s political gathering takes priority.
The Circular
The directive, signed by Dr. Abdul S. U. Garba, Permanent Secretary of the Service Welfare Office, was clear: all access roads to the complex will be closed for two days. Civil servants in the affected buildings should work remotely on Friday to “ease movement restrictions.”
Permanent secretaries and heads of agencies were instructed to ensure “strict compliance.”
The circular did not specify when normal operations would resume, though workers are expected to return on Monday.
The Optics
The shutdown sends an unmistakable message: the ruling party’s internal politics now physically displaces the machinery of government.
The Federal Secretariat houses ministries that shape Nigeria’s foreign policy, economic planning, and civil service administration. Yet for two days, their workers are confined to their homes so that APC delegates can gather a few hundred meters away.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria’s face to the world, is among those told to stay home.
What This Means
For civil servants, the directive is a rare interruption to normal operations. For the APC, it is an inconvenience that signals the party’s preeminence over the state apparatus.
For ordinary Nigerians, it’s another reminder: when the political class convenes, the government stops.
What Happens Next
The convention will be held at Eagle Square on Friday and Saturday, with delegates expected to confirm the party’s leadership structure ahead of the 2027 elections. The roads will reopen on Sunday. Civil servants will return to their desks on Monday.
But the image of the Federal Secretariat — the nerve center of Nigerian governance — sitting empty because the ruling party needs the parking space will linger longer than the road closures.
