Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
President Bola Tinubu while declaring open the 2026 International Civil Service Conference on Wednesday in Abuja stated that Nigeria is fast becoming the benchmark for public service reforms in Africa and globally.
According to President Tinubu, Nigeria’s Civil Service is fast transforming to meet citizen’s needs.
He acknowledged the critical role of the Civil Service for national transformation. Tinubu stated that no good policy can succeed without capable, disciplined, and high-performing Civil Service.
President Tinubu who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, also directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to sustain and deepen their digitalised work processes they have attained in the last one year.
He maintained that the era of manual inefficiency must be replaced by culture of speed.
His words: “Accordingly, all Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments are hereby directed to sustain and deepen their digitalised work processes. Agencies are also directed to adopt digitalisation across their internal operations and service delivery systems.
“The era of manual inefficiency must give way to a culture of speed, transparency, data-driven decision-making, and citizen-centred service.”
Presidnt Tinubu commended the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, for her exemplary leadership in driving the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025. He stated: “The integration of innovative tools, including the Service-Wise GPT, demonstrates what is possible when visionary leadership is matched with disciplined execution, institutional ownership and a clear commitment to reform.
“I also commend the collective efforts of our Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies. Through sustained internal collaboration, Nigeria’s public service transformation journey has continued to gain momentum.
According to the President, 38 Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments in Nigeria are now operating on a secure, paperless, and end-to-end electronic workflow system.
He also added: “Our shared commitment to governance reform, institutional strengthening, and improved service delivery is positioning the country as an emerging benchmark for public service reform on the continent and beyond.”
“The results we see today speak to the resilience, commitment, and adaptability of our workforce. Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of this Administration, we promised a government that works for every Nigerian.
“We recognised then, as we do now, that no policy, however sound, can succeed without a capable, disciplined, and high-performing Civil Service to implement it. You are the engine room of national transformation.
“Today, that engine is becoming faster, smarter, more accountable, and more responsive to the needs of our people.” the President stated
He also commended the international partners for their continued collaboration.
“Your insights, reform experience, and technical support have strengthened our transformation journey. Nigeria is reforming with confidence, not only to meet domestic expectations but also to contribute meaningfully to regional and global standards in public service excellence.”
The President further noted that the theme of the Conference, “Reforms, Resilience and Results,” is not just a slogan, but a statement of intent and a measure of progress. He said “This Conference must therefore serve as a results laboratory. It must challenge us to ask hard questions: How do we make reform irreversible? How do we strengthen accountability? How do we ensure that technology improves service delivery and not merely internal processes? How do we build institutions that endure beyond personalities and political cycle?
“We must institutionalise resilience so that the progress of today becomes the standard of tomorrow. The world is watching Nigeria. More importantly, Nigerians are expecting results. Our responsibility is to justify their confidence by building a Civil Service that is efficient, ethical, professional, innovative, and firmly committed to national development.”
In her welcome address, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Walson-Jack said successes have been recorded since the 2025 edition in Abuja.
“Eleven months ago, we stood on this ground and made a bold commitment: to rejuvenate, innovate, and accelerate the transformation of Nigeria’s Civil Service. Today,
we return, not to repeat ourselves, but to demonstrate. We have brought progress. We have brought proof. And we have brought renewed determination to go further.”
While noting that six countries
participated in the 2025 edition, and she said sixteen nations are presently attending the 2026 edition.
Listing the countries to include the United States, the United
Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, Indonesia, Colombia, Ghana, The Gambia, Zambia, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Iran, Ethiopia, DR Congo and Nigeria, she said over 5,000 participants are physical at the Eagle Square, Abuja, and thousands connecting through online platforms.
She said, “We gather this year under the theme ‘Reforms, Resilience and Results,’ three words chosen with purpose. Reform, because no institution survives by doing tomorrow exactly what it did yesterday.
“Resilience, because the world does not pause its disruptions while
we reorganise. And results because citizens everywhere are done waiting for potential. They want delivery.”
The successes achieved so far in Nigeria, she noted, couldn’t have been possible without the visionary leadership, strong support, and unwavering commitment of President Tinubu.
On the 2026 conference, she said, “Now, the architecture of this Conference. ICSC 2026 is structured across eight stages-Aspire, Innovate, Activate, Accelerate, Accomplish, Rejuvenate, Transform, and
Impact as a deliberate progression.
“They reflect the journey that genuine reform takes: from vision, through implementation, to making gains last and delivering lasting results.”
The three Roundtable, she said, will tackle the future of work in the public sector, partnerships and collaboration, and financing reform under fiscal pressure.
She noted that these are not designed for comfortable consensus but to generate the useful friction that produces insight.
She stressed: “The Deal Room is our most consequential innovation this year. Stakeholders will not merely discuss partnerships; they will formalise them, with Legal Officers on hand to support the signing of the Memoranda of Understanding.
“We want this conference to end with signatures, not just speeches, so your active engagement is essential to turn discussions into tangible commitments.” she also added.
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