Nigeria’s 38 Heads Of Service To Understudy Singapore’s Civil Service

In an initiative aimed at improving the Nigerian civil service, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has announced that she will lead a delegation of 37 Heads of Service, including those from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on a retreat in Singapore.

Walson-Jack said that the retreat will focus on studying the operational frameworks of Singapore’s civil service.

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation made the announcement during a media briefing in Abuja, where she also provided an overview of the achievements of her office during her first 100 days in office.

She emphasised that the retreat was part of broader discussions with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed at exploring various methods to enhance the civil service in Nigeria.

Among other collaborative efforts, she explained ongoing negotiations with the UNDP’s Country Representative regarding a potential Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the training of key personnel from the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) at the Global Centre for Public Service Excellence in Singapore.

In addition, she noted that when she read Nigeria’s statement on Agenda Item 22 (Eradication of Poverty) and Item 24 (Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition) at the UN General Assembly in New York, she met with the Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Amina Mohammed, to collaborate on capacity building and digitalisation initiatives.

She said those opportunities enabled the parties to highlight Nigeria’s commitment to global development goals and to learn from international best practices.

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation added that she had interacted with key stakeholders, including the Senate and House Committees on Public Service Matters on her reform agenda to solicit their feedback and ensure legislative support for key initiatives.

Walson-Jack described her first 100 days in office as a significant milestone that offered an opportunity to reflect on the achievements recorded, perform a thorough audit of progress and identify the goals ahead.

“Since assuming office on 14 August 2024, my commitment has been clear: to fast-track, accelerate and sustain the reforms outlined in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 (FCSSIP 25).

“This strategy is the blueprint for transforming the Civil Service into a professional, efficient, and globally competitive institution.

“To this end, we set up and inaugurated seven “war rooms,” each dedicated to overseeing one of the six pillars of the FCSSIP reforms and the enablers. These war rooms ensure that no initiative is neglected, and that progress is both measurable and impactful,” she said.

Walson-Jack also informed that the verification of civil servants still drawing salaries after relocating abroad was ongoing through IPPIS HR and IPPIS payroll to ensure that the anomaly was completely dealt with.