No fewer than 617 staff of the Lagos State Government sponsored to acquire skills abroad have been reported to have ran away after the completion of their foreign training.
The staff were discovered to have absconded months after they failed to return to duty, resulting in a significant shortfall in the number of staff expected to resume for duties across the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) across the state.
These staff represent 30 percent of the 2,057 employees who were officially permitted by the state government to acquire advance skills abroad under its capacity development initiative.
As gathered, the former staff conduct sparked concerns within the state’s civil service commission, raising questions about accountability, policy enforcement, and the effectiveness of the study leave program.
The Commissioner for Establishment, training and pension, Afolabi Ayantayo, disclosed this on Wednesday during the 2025 ministerial press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital.
According to him, the study leave approvals were granted over the past three years to employees across 56 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) as part of a capacity building initiative aimed at enhancing professional skills and competencies.
While the initiative was intended to strengthen the workforce, emerging data shows that only 70 percent of the beneficiaries have returned to their duty posts after completing their programs abroad.
He noted that the other 30 percent, equivalent to 617 public servants, chose not to return, and have decided to either settle in their countries of study or explore other career opportunities elsewhere.
“With the information I received 70 percent of the beneficiaries returned to their posts after completing their programs, 30 percent chose to remain in their country of study,” he said.
During his speech, Ayantayo disclosed that Lagos State currently has a total of 111,108 public servants on its payroll, reflecting the size and scale of the state’s administrative structure across its ministries, departments, and agencies.
The figure underscores the state’s substantial investment in human capital and the importance of effective workforce management in ensuring service delivery.
He noted that this number highlights not only the government’s commitment to employment generation but also the pressing need for policies that ensure accountability, productivity, and sustainability within the public sector.
