Buhari directs Nigeria’s Head of Service to develop road-map for civil service

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, to develop a road-map that will make the civil service effective, innovative and service oriented.

He gave the directive at a dinner and award night organised by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation as part of activities to mark civil service week on Friday.

Represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the Federation Government, Mr Babachir Lawal, Buhari said effective civil service was fundamental to government’s change agenda.

He called on civil servants across the country to remain dedicated to duties, stressing that the civil service was the engine room of government across the world.

In her address, Oyo-Ita had similarly, called on public servants across the country to embrace an inclusive and citizen oriented service delivery.

“This is the only option for us in the Civil Service of the Federation as we have resolved to embrace the change agenda of government,’’ she said.

She recalled that she had embarked on robust engagement with critical stakeholder in the Federal Civil Service shortly after her appointment.

Oyo-Ita observed that the engagement resulted in the evolution of a new ethos for the service, founded on the collective desire for efficiency, service delivery and productivity, among others.

She further added that the ethos had been captured in the acronym “ EPIC“, meaning Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible and Citizen Centred civil service.

According to her, this will restore hope and dignity to the service by reversing the current reputation for inefficiency, low productivity, corruption and insensitivity to the needs of citizens.

“The EPIC culture will emphasise the core values of the service with are meritocracy, transparency, professionalism, anonymity, discipline, impartiality, political neutrality, patriotism and accountability,’’ she said.

Oyo-Ita, nonetheless, observed that the attainment of this desire would require strong enforcement of extant rules and regulations in the service.

She noted that there were still a good number of civil servants with proven track records that were demonstrating high patriotism.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that awards were given to a total of 41 distinguished civil servants in different categories.

The awards included the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award, the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Commendation Award.

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The occasion was attended by all federal permanent secretaries, heads of government ministries, departments and agencies and former heads of the Civil Service of the Federation, among others.

The dinner and award night were parts of the highlights of the Civil Service Week which began on July 29 in Abuja with the theme: “Public Governance for Inclusive Growth; Towards the Africa we Want.’’