Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has stated the necessity of rewarding high-performing civil servants.

Olaopa spoke, at the weekend, during the 2026 Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Service-Wide Reward and Recognition Ceremony held in Abuja.

According to Olaopa in a goodwill message on the occasion, the significance of performance and consequence management to the transformation of the civil service administrative system as encapsulated in FCSSIP25 underlies the relevance of reward and sanction as instruments for boosting performance and productivity.

He said that rewards like praises, letters of commendation, recognition, awards and promotions play a key role in motivating high engagement, good outcomes and general workplace performance spirit.

Olaopa, however, noted that sanctions that could range from warnings to pay cuts and demotions were necessary for mitigating bad behaviour, unprofessional practices and poor work attitudes.

He said: “There is another fundamental reason why this ceremony is worthwhile. Those who are to be honoured today represent the very essence of dedication and commitment to the public service. And this is in spite of the fact that they carry out their duties, tasks and responsibilities under a heavily demotivating, demanding, crippling and very difficult work environment.

“The limiting factors are unfortunately still there despite the many years of trying to fashion out significant and ongoing reforms to address pay, compensation, as well as the comprehensive reform vision embedded in the cumulative achievements of previous Heads of the Civil Service of the Federation through the National Strategy for Public Service Reforms (NSPSR), whose civil service administrative reform critical components have been brilliantly elaborated in the FCSSIP25.”

The FCSC Chairman, while acknowledging that the ceremony was a significant indicator of what had been done, said that it also showed what more needed to be done in the immediate and distant future.

“We are, therefore, being alerted to the point that there is still a lot more to be done, not only in spirited reward and recognition of those who are making the system functional, but also in the overall urgency of making the civil service system capability ready. This is important if all the accomplishments of past, present and future reform efforts will add up to galvanise our small and big wins into fundamental structural and institutional transformations that the civil service in Nigeria needs to place alongside other celebrated high-performing public services around the globe, and in the realisation of the founding vision of the pioneers of the profession in Nigeria.”

Olaopa, however, urged those who would take charge of the civil service in the future to build on the achievements and contributions of the outgoing HCSF, while taking on the critical challenge to at once get the basics of administrative reforms right.

He said that this would demand solidifying merit-based recruitment, performance-based career progression and promotion, as well as the ultimate necessity of rebranding and restoring the value foundation of the public service through a thorough enforcement of the codes of conduct and ethics as part of the mandates of re-professionalisation.

Olaopa also lauded the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, for achieving the 2026 edition of the reward event and for brilliantly and valiantly harvesting the incentives and leadership open-mindedness of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to build immensely on the administrative contributions of heads of service of the federation since 1999.

On her part, Walson-Jack said that the occasion affirmed that excellence should be recognised and appreciated.

She thanked President Bola Tinubu for his support for her transformational initiatives in the civil service and also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, for his support.

Walson-Jack said that the officers being celebrated had distinguished themselves through innovation, diligence and service.

According to her, the awardees are now the ambassadors of excellence in the civil service and urged them to mentor those under them.

She, therefore, urged those who were nominated but could not get awards not to be discouraged but to continue to serve excellently as they would be recognised one day.