The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has stated that staff members of the commission should not entertain any fear of rationalisation, even as it concludes work on its strategic plan for 2026-2030.
The strategic plan, which marks the first of its kind by the commission in its 71-year history, aims to transform the FCSC into a critical human resources management (HRM) expert advisory hub that the Federal Government can rely on.
Prof. Olaopa, who spoke in an interview on the sidelines of the strategic plan validation meeting in Abuja on Monday, said rationalisation is not part of the strategic plan because the personnel of the commission are attracted from the central pool, which is located at the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.
However, the FCSC boss said that moving forward, the commission might recruit a core team of staff members who will be the main professionals if needed. “But that will take a little longer because it means we have to establish a pay structure that is somewhat different from the widely known service pay scale,” he said, adding that those are details for the future. “In the meantime, we are going to find a way to enhance the incentive structure so that within the framework of pay and compensation, we can still motivate our staff,” he noted.
Earlier in his speech, Prof. Olaopa said that the strategic plans of public sector institutions, for all practical purposes, typically provide a framework for translating strategic intent into concrete, measurable actions, performance improvement, resource optimisation, and policy alignment.
“For the FCSC, it is a tool for rethinking traditional, outdated operations and processes, and for driving transformation in line with 21st-century governance and management principles,” he said.
The chairman said the commission is not reinventing the wheel but is leveraging the experiences of comparable countries as well as good and smart practices observed in the reforms of Civil Service Commissions across the Commonwealth of Nations in six domain areas.
He listed the areas to include, such as strengthening the commission’s constitutionally enabled institutional independence, oversight of MDAs, and its own mechanisms for public accountability; also, to establish transparent and meritocratic digital recruitment platforms to facilitate nationwide competitive exams.
He stated that the commission is collaborating with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to institutionalise performance-based systems that link promotions and career progression to key performance indicators (KPIs), citizen feedback mechanisms, and a revised annual appraisal report in federal service promotion exercises and career management.
“We are reinventing such functions as regional and international liaison to actively reconnect the commission to its global community of practice and service, including the AAPSCOMMS, the state Civil Service Commissions in Nigeria and the National Council of Civil Service Commissions,” he concluded.
Also speaking, the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, said that the decision to involve stakeholders in the validation of the strategic plan demonstrates a deep appreciation for the value of inclusiveness, collaboration, and shared ownership of reforms within the Civil Service.
The Head of Service, represented by Mrs Deborah Odoh, a Permanent Secretary, stated that the Civil Service remains the engine room for policy formulation and execution in Nigeria. To effectively fulfil this role, the civil service must continuously reposition itself to meet changing governance challenges, adopt international best practices, and deliver services more efficiently to the Nigerian people.
She promised that the Office of the Head of Service will support every effort by the FCSC to implement the strategic plan effectively.
