Get Guardian on Google• Oborevwori urges civil servants to embrace AI, digital transformation
Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has reeled out the achievements that marked his leadership of the agency in the past three years.
Olaopa spoke yesterday in Asaba during the 45th National Council and yearly conference of the Civil Service Commissions of the Federation.
According to Olaopa, his leadership, which is also referred to as the 10th Commission, is in its third year and is running out of its first tenure.
He said that for the first time since the existence of the FCSC, his leadership introduced a new online mode of recruitment, saying: “This facilitates a more convenient, cost-effective, friendly and safer recruitment exercise that deploys computer-based testing as a procedure for achieving merit-based selection of civil servants.
“On the other hand, there has also been established a strictly controlled and transparent service-wide and directorate-level promotion system that again utilises online accreditation and the CBT to facilitate the promotion of civil service officers. This goes a long way in undermining undue influence and racketeering.”
He said that in the life of the FCSC spanning decades, his leadership for the first time also introduced a strategic plan that secured the buy-in of a large pool of stakeholders, adding that the strategic plan would run for five years.
Olaopa, while listing further achievements, said that the Commission had opened up its visibility in terms of more strategic communication of its policies and activities.
According to him, through such strategic communication, the image of the FCSC is now changing from that of a cesspool of corruption to that of a haven of transparency, fairness and credibility.
He, however, called for stronger collaboration between the federal and state civil services, warning that efforts to transform the federal workforce would be inadequate if similar technical and institutional support was not extended to state and local council administrations.
Olaopa said that it would be counterproductive for the Federal Government to concentrate on strengthening the intelligence quotient, professional competence and policy capabilities of the federal workforce without helping state civil service commissions develop the capacity to implement competency-based human resource management practices.
He said state civil services needed adequate technical support to improve personnel management, institutional performance and the capacity to contribute meaningfully to economic growth at the subnational level.
According to him, the participation of state and local councils is critical to achieving Nigeria’s national development objectives because they are closer to the people and constitute important economic corridors for delivering sustainable growth.
Meanwhile, Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, at the event, has urged federal and state civil servants across the country to urgently embrace AI, digital technology and innovative approaches to modernise public administration and improve service delivery to Nigerians.
The governor said the rapidly changing technological landscape had made it imperative for the Nigerian Civil Service to move beyond traditional bureaucratic practices, acquire relevant digital skills and adopt innovative systems capable of making government operations more efficient, transparent and responsive to citizens’ needs.
The governor, represented at the six-day event by his deputy, Monday Onyeme, maintained that the civil service, being the institutional backbone of government, must continuously strengthen public institutions, promote merit and fairness, and protect the integrity and reputation of the service.
According to him, the effectiveness of government policies and development programmes depends largely on the capacity, commitment and professionalism of the public servants responsible for implementing them.
He stressed that the civil service must cultivate a work culture that rewards diligence, innovation, accountability and productivity rather than encourage outdated administrative practices that undermine efficiency.
Earlier, Chairman of the Delta State Civil Service Commission, Roseline Amioku, declared that the traditional perception of the civil service as merely a bureaucratic machinery for implementing government policies was no longer sufficient in the face of contemporary governance challenges.
She said the modern civil service must evolve into a dynamic institution capable of driving national development, encouraging innovation and delivering efficient public services.
Amioku, however, acknowledged that the Nigerian Civil Service continued to contend with significant structural and institutional challenges, including capacity gaps, bureaucratic inertia, perceptions of corruption and resistance to organisational change.
