President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described the Nigerian civil service as 鈥渢he engine room鈥 of his administration鈥檚 Renewed Hope Agenda and a critical vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
Speaking at the opening of the International Civil Service Conference in Abuja, Tinubu emphasized the urgent need for a more agile, skilled, and data-driven public workforce. He announced that he has authorised a comprehensive personnel audit and skills-gap analysis across all cadres of the federal civil service to reposition it for effective service delivery.
鈥淭he civil service is the engine of national transformation. To meet the challenges of the 21st century, it must be agile, digitally competent, and results-oriented,鈥 the president stated.
Tinubu also underscored the importance of data as the 鈥渘ew oil,鈥 charging Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to rigorously capture, protect, and publish public-sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023. He said data sovereignty, transparency, and global benchmarking were vital to achieving real-time progress and good governance.
The president hailed the conference theme 鈥淩ejuvenate, Innovate & Accelerate!鈥 as a call to action for the Nigerian civil service to evolve into a performance-driven and technology-enabled institution. He said bureaucracy must give way to efficiency and innovation if the civil service is to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Didi Walson-Jack, welcomed the president鈥檚 commitment and highlighted the ongoing implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2025 (FCSSIP 25).
The reform agenda includes performance management systems, continuous learning, digitisation, and the promotion of ethical leadership.
Walson-Jack said the reforms draw from global best practices and study visits to countries such as Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States, aimed at institutionalising a citizen-centred and globally competitive civil service.
The conference brought together senior Government officials, development partners, and public sector experts to chart the course for a modern Nigerian civil service.