Govt inaugurates implementation committee on civil service reforms

The Federal Government has inaugurated the Project Management Teams for the implementation of the 2017-2020 Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan developed by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, said the reforms objective was to reposition the Service for better performance in line with the vision of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, to restore the core values of the Federal Civil Service.

She disclosed that the Project Management Teams (PMT) being the pivot of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP), involves relevant private sector champions expected to facilitate and drive day-to-day implementation of the eight priority areas of the 2017-2020 strategy plan.

The eight basic areas of focus in the strategy plan in the Civil Service reform process are:  Capacity building and training; talent sourcing; performance management; staff welfare; culture change; innovation; Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS); and Civil Service automation.

Oyo-Ita, said the current public service reforms initiative by her office was timely and laudable considering the current administration’s commitment towards repositioning the sector for better performance and to provide high quality services to Nigerians and foreign investors.

She said: “It is important to note that by 2020, the implementation of the strategy is expected to deliver N60-N120 billion savings from cleaning the human resource data on IPPIS, N2.5 billion annual savings from digitising content, and at least 25,000 civil servants trained through revamped core modules.

“The 2017-2020 FCSSIP, when fully implemented, will no doubt go a long way in engendering a robust civil service institution that is efficient, productive, incorruptible, and citizens centred.

“The strategy will also generate a crop of skilled, motivated, disciplined, and innovative civil servants that will change the current perception of Nigerian civil servants and foster robust linkages between the public and private sectors in fast-tracking the socio-economic development of Nigeria,” she said.

The Strategy implementation committee, which has the Permanent Secretary, Special Service Office, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, as the chairman, has other members as follows: OHCSF line Directors, Special Assistant to Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Donor implementation partners.