The provisions of the Public Service Rules are strictly enforced by all Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Offices and Agencies. They apply to all officers in the Public Service except where they conflict with specific terms approved by the Federal Government and written into the contract of employment or letter of appointment. A principal or head of an FCT school administration therefore cannot treat the Rules as advisory: they bind every officer in the establishment, from the head teacher to the least ranked staff, subject only to the carve-out for individually approved contract terms. The Rule then lists the holders of high public office — the President, Vice President, President of the Senate and Members, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Members, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Members of the Federal Executive Council — for the purposes of the special provisions that follow.

It is the duty of every officer to acquaint himself with the Public Service Rules and other extant regulations and circulars. Ignorance of a rule is therefore not a defence in a disciplinary proceeding. Practically, an officer who is queried for absence without leave, for instance, cannot argue that no one explained the rule to him. The same duty extends to the circulars that modify the Rules from time to time, because Rule 010106 empowers the Federal Government to amend any of the provisions contained in the Rules by issuing an appropriate Circular during the lifespan of the Public Service Rules. An officer who keeps his own copy of the Rules and reads the circulars as they are issued is discharging a personal obligation, not doing the employer a favour.

Three short provisions round off Chapter 1. First, although the Rules use the masculine gender throughout, Rule 010107 makes it clear that the provisions apply equally to both genders, so a duty cast on 'an officer' binds female officers in exactly the same way. Second, Rule 010108 provides that a copy of the Public Service Rules shall form part of the inventory of items in all offices of the Public Service, which means the office copy must be listed, safeguarded and handed over like any other Government asset. Third, because Rules are amended by Circular, an officer must treat an extant Circular as having the same binding force as the printed Rule it modifies. Together these provisions establish the foundation on which every later chapter — appointment, promotion, discipline, leave and allowances — rests.