The enforcement of a merit-based system, professionalisation, digital reform, and competitive remuneration are pivotal changes to rebranding the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) for improved civil service.

Prof Tunji Olaopa, who is the Chairman of the FCSC, said this yesterday in Abuja during the 2026 International Civil Service Conference organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

According to Olaopa, the enhanced performance of the civil service is tied to merit-based processes and guidelines spelt out in clear terms and aligned with the federal character policy and ethical discipline, transparency, and accountability.

He said that all this had been taken into consideration in the strategic plan of the commission to rebrand it and optimise its performance.

He noted the importance of digital reform as a great component of the strategic plan to make technology drive the FCSC secretariat, to change it from its slow and paper-heavy status that is prone to loss, damage and human error.

Such a change, he stated, would result in automated user-centric systems that would end the era of recruitment forms, physical queues and fragmented departments, and would pave the way for “interoperable databases, digital identities, and seamless online recruitment portal and CBT engines, where candidates and other clients can access all of the Commission’s services from a single dashboard from any location around the world.”

According to him, integrity, credibility and public spiritedness are critical success factors for the Commission’s operation. Thus, he urged that in appointing people to the Commission, greater emphasis needs to be put on these attributes.

Similarly, he urged that the selection of members of the Commission should emphasise a track record of high professionalism and expertise in their fields of specialisation, and records of high integrity in previous professional lives.

“The same should apply in the staffing of the secretariat of the Commission with officers with proven records of competence and personal integrity,” he said.

He called for adequate funding for the Commission’s core functions, activities and projects as well as enhanced incentive structures so management and staff can rise to their role as a valued gatekeeper of the essential profession of national significance.

Stressing the need for the enforcement of a merit system and professionalism, he said that this would require that entry-level assessment examinations and criteria for selection be linked to specific tasks to be performed in user MDA, in order to guide objective selection processes.