The Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, has commenced the 2025 Personnel Audit and Skills Gap Analysis, marking a significant step in its plan to modernise the Nigerian civil service and align it with national development goals.
The initiative aims to create a definitive database of all government employees, dubbed the PASGA Project (Personnel Audit and Skills Gap Analysis).
The data will guide critical decisions on recruitment, training, and career advancement and identify essential shortages in areas such as ICT, data analysis, project management, and public finance.
The project is being spearheaded by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
The head of the Civil Service, Dr Didi Walson-Jack, declared the audit a “major milestone” in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025 at a sensitisation event on Thursday.
She framed it as a decisive break from the past, addressing years of “fragmented and outdated personnel records” that have led to inefficiencies.
“Through PASGA, we set a new, transparent, data-based, and performance-oriented standard.
“This reform will deliver accurate personnel records, identify existing skills gaps, and support targeted training and redeployment aligned with the evolving needs of the government,” she said.
She emphasised that the exercise was more than just a headcount, calling it a reform tool that would shape the future of Nigeria’s workforce.
Walson-Jack directly appealed for cooperation from all service levels, urging Permanent Secretaries, Directors, union leaders, and staff to demonstrate ownership of the process.
“This exercise is a bold statement of our readiness to build a civil service that is data-driven, merit-based, and future-ready.
“Together, we can make the Nigerian civil service a model of efficiency, accountability, and innovation in public administration,” she said.
The head of Service also commended the Project Implementation Committee, chaired by the Permanent Secretary for the Common Services Office, Dr Danjuma Kalba, for their preparatory work.
She charged the project’s consultant, Knewrow Consulting, to execute the assignment professionally and precisely.
According to her, successfully implementing the PASGA Project is critical to achieving a more agile and capable civil service that can effectively implement the government’s policies and serve the Nigerian public.
Officials anticipate that the project will yield significant benefits, including reduced financial leakages, eliminating redundant roles, and more strategic deployment of personnel across various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Digitalising records through the Human Resource Management Information System is expected to be a key enabler of this new efficiency.
