The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Professor Tunji Olaopa, has pledged to support the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in properly institutionalizing the FCT Service Commission.
Professor Olaopa stated this when he received the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, and other Commissioners in his office.
He commended the FCT Minister for making history by establishing the foundation for public administration practice in the FCT as a mini-state.
He said, “Whatever the merit or demerit of that bold decision, our training as bureaucrats dictates that when the government, in its wisdom, takes such far-reaching political decisions of a paradigm-shifting nature as the one elevating the FCT into a mini-state in the public administration sense, our duty is to mobilize maximum support.
Not just to ensure the utmost success of the experiment, but to accord such initiative desirable compliments so that the prime objective of the government is achieved to the fullest extent possible.
“I therefore pledge the full unalloyed support of the FCSC towards the proper establishment of the FCT Service Commission and its institutionalization as a new frontier for Nigeria to harness, and as a clear and distinct opportunity to break new grounds in HR professionalism in the public administration profession in Nigeria”.
The FCSC Chairman said the FCT Service Commission has ample room to be innovative, through a strategic resolve not to inherit the heavy ‘old school’ baggage and those outdated practices that have constrained the emergence of a new public service in Nigeria despite the many administrative reforms that have been implemented since the Udoji reform of 1974.
“At that, there is a wide expansive portfolio of smart, good, and best practice innovations that you can take advantage of and adapt for your purpose, as you proceed to establish your Commission as a center for excellence for HR professionalism, just as the FCSC under my lead has equally commenced its institutional repositioning reform drive.
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“The starting point in breaking new grounds, as we earlier discussed at our private conversation Hon Chairman, is a spirited move to commence the FCT public service professionalization journey with a definitive engagement with the Head of Service of the FCT, to set in motion the basis for shared vision and passion through strategic partnership and understanding around the question of who, in the FCT governance space, a civil servant is; who the permanent secretary should be; what attributes should define him or her; and what values and competences undergird her professionalism?
“In doing this, you must fully recognize the strategic position of the office of the Head of Service of the FCT as the nodal point for development policy management coordination through the supervisory control of the permanent secretaries on the one hand. You must, at once, appreciate how significant the Commission is as the gatekeeper for public administration practice in the FCT.
“What the symbiosis in the twinning relationship between the two offices then achieves is a resolve by the two offices to complement each other and not enter into any overt or subtle competition for power as empire-building. Such shared passion and complementarity will enable the two to take joint responsibility for rethinking the future of the FCT public service,” he added.
In his response, the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Engr. Emeka Eze, seeks the collaboration of the Chairman of the FCSC towards establishing the FCT Civil Service Commission.
“We are here to seek your guidance, collaboration, and support as we embark on the journey of establishing the FCT Civil Service Commission,” Engr Eze noted.
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