By Mohmmed Mohammed
The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, has said that the Federal Government is poised to re-engineer the public service to enable it render high quality service to the country.
Yemi-Esan said this in her opening remarks at a Strategic Policy and Engagement Workshop on the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2021 -2025 held for members of the National Assembly on Thursday in Abuja.
The workshop, she explained, was part of the ongoing efforts by her Office to promote inclusiveness and buy-in of stakeholders to ensure the successful actualization of the goals of developing a new civil service.
She added that the six priority areas of FCSSIP is important if Nigeria was to evolve a professional, efficient and merit-based workforce that is also accountable and responsive to needs of all citizens and other stakeholders.
Yemi-Esan further said the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2017-2020 was derived from the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.
The ERGP, she added, was developed and implemented by the present administration in response to the economic recession of the time.
The Successor Plan was an outcome of engagement by different stakeholders, including retired Heads of Service, serving and retired Permanent Secretaries, Directorate Cadre Officers, Officers on grade level 9-14, labour unions, development partners, civil society organizations and Organised Private Sector (OPS) among others, she added.
The six priority areas of the Successor Plan are: Capability building, integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), innovation and culture change, performance management system, automation of work processes through Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and vi. Staff welfare.
The workshop, she explained, was being organized to apprise members of the National Assembly of the priority deliverables undertaken by the Office through a number of reforms and structures.
“The putting in place of these structures and mechanisms is sacrosanct if the country is to evolve a professional, efficient and merit- based workforce that is also accountable and responsive to the service needs of all citizens and other stakeholders” she added.
She commended the National Assembly for its continued support to her Office, especially in the warm reception accorded to her delegation by the two committees on Establishment and Public Service Matters of the hallowed chambers each time she visited.
In his goodwill message, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Ibrahim Shakarau, urged the leadership of the civil service to embrace these principles so as to make success of their endeavours.
In his own speech, the Chairman of the House committee on public service Matters, Engr. Sani Sala described FCSSIP 2021-2025 as an alternative roadmap that will ensure that right civil servants are at the helm of affairs, adding that “with bad laws and good civil servants, it is still possible to govern. But with bad civil servants even the best laws cannot help”
He urged civil servants to rededicate themselves to ensure the success of the FCSSIP.
