Tinubu: Nigeria Requires Civil Service Capable of Sustaining National Devt

• Jonathan makes case for integrity in leadership

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has said that for Nigeria to progress and build an inclusive and prosperous country, it needs a civil service that is not only capable of administering government but capable of delivering results, enabling reform, and sustaining national development.

He stated this yesterday in Abuja at the presentation of two books by the retiring Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, titled: “I planted: A Memoir of Purposeful Service” and “Beyond the Mandate: A Memoir on Leadership, Legacy and Labour of Public Service”.

Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Ude, said he held the Nigerian civil service in high regard because of its enduring principles of permanence, continuity, professionalism, and institutional stability.

“We need public servants who understand that competence is a duty, integrity is non-negotiable, innovation is a necessity, and service to the Nigerian people is the ultimate purpose of public office.

“The story contained in the two books being launched today is therefore not only the story of one woman. It is also a reminder to the 1000s of men and women across Nigeria public service that their work matters.

“Every policy implemented properly matters. Every public institution strengthened matters. Every young officer mentored, matters. Every process made more efficient matters. Every public resource protected, matters. Every citizen whose experience of government is improved matters,” Tinubu said.

He described Walson-Jack as a reformer, who understood the responsibility of the office of the head of the civil service of the federation and as someone who assumed the office with a clear understanding that the civil service must continuously evolve if it were to meet the demands of a rapidly changing Nigeria and an increasingly complex world.

“I have watched with admiration her efforts to reposition the Federal Civil Service as a more responsive and result-oriented institution. Working with ministers and other stakeholders, she has helped strengthen institutional continuity, technical expertise, coordination, and administrative machinery required to translate government policies into implementable action.

“This is particularly important because the Renewed Hope Agenda is not simply a political declaration. It is a programme of transformation that requires institutions capable of delivering results.“

The president added that the reforms initiated in governance and the public service were designed to change the way government works, from processes that merely consume time to systems that produce measurable value for citizens, and to creating future-ready talent that would fit into the fast-evolving technological age.

He lauded the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2020 to 2025 and its successor, the 2020-2026-2030 Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan in addition to advances in digital transformation of the service and the continuing integration of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (the IPs) with the Human Resource Management Systems.

He noted they formed the bedrock of the plan to eliminate leakages, and ensure accountability in the management of public resources.

“Documenting her experiences, reflections, and lessons for present and future generations of public servants. I also commend her for reminding us that leadership is not merely about occupying an office, it is about purpose, stewardship, sacrifice, and legacy.“

Tinubu also lauded the outgoing Head of Service for documenting her experiences, reflections, and lessons for present and future generations of public servants and for reminding all that leadership is not merely about occupying an office, it is about purpose, stewardship, sacrifice, and legacy.

Also, speaking at the occasion, former President Goodluck Jonathan urged leaders to prioritise competence and character when appointing people into positions of responsibility.

“Every nation, every state, even institutions like the civil service, if integrity and merit are not considered, especially in leadership, then you cannot go anywhere. You must use the right people for the right thing,” Jonathan said.

Using an analogy from biology, he said assigning responsibilities without considering competence would undermine performance.

“A cat feeds on other animals, a dog also feeds on other animals, and a lion also feeds on other animals. But if you give the job of a lion to a cat, it cannot perform. You must give the job of a lion to a lion and the job of a cat to a cat,” he said.

He thanked President Tinubu for the historic appointment of an indigene of Bayelsa State to the position of the nation’s top civil service.

“That appointment makes her the first Bayelsan to hold that office. I don’t know when we will get the next one that will be there because you have only one Head of Service of the Federation at a time, and it is not that you rotate the office. There is a lot of merit required,” Jonathan said.

He urged leaders to prioritise competence and character when appointing people into positions of responsibility.

Jonathan, who joined other dignitaries in celebrating her retirement from public service, stressed that the position was attained strictly on merit and not through rotation.