The urgent need for civil servants to rebuild citizens’ trust through transparency, accountability, and unwavering commitment to service excellence has been emphasised.
 
The call was made during the 58th induction ceremony for Lagos State Human Resource (HR)/Administrative Cadre by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) with the theme: ‘The Service, the Civil Servant, and the Profession: Rebuilding Excellence and Public Trust in the Civil Service,’ where over 178 new inductees were welcomed through both the executive and HR practitioners’ routes.
    
President and Chairman of the Governing Council, CIPM, Ahmed Gobir, said the theme resonated deeply in the nation’s current climate, where public trust in the civil service is more crucial than ever.
    
He quoted statistics that revealed that public trust in government institutions has significantly declined over the past decade, with recent surveys indicating that only 38 per cent of citizens express confidence in their public service.   
   
Stating a 2022 report by the United Nations, where about 70 per cent of public sector reforms fail to achieve their objectives because they do not focus on people, who are the very core of service delivery, the CIPM boss stressed that the statistics must challenge them to act.
    
He reminded them of the critical role that civil servants play in shaping the nation, stating that the civil service is the backbone of effective governance, “and its integrity is vital to public trust. Yet, as we know, recent surveys indicate that only 42 per cent of citizens trust their government institutions.”
 
He urged the newly inducted members that the skills, knowledge and ethical standards they have gained are the tools they needed to navigate the complexities of the public sector and rebuild trust in the civil service. 
 
Chairman of the Lagos State Civil Service Commission, Olubunmi Fabamwo, and the guest speaker, in her keynote address, emphasised the importance of professionalism in human resource management within the public sector. 
    
According to her, “The path to rebuilding public trust in the civil service lies in our commitment to excellence and integrity. As civil servants, we must embody the values we seek to promote, ensuring that our actions inspire confidence in the systems we serve.”