The Head of the Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita said in Calabar that the proposed civil service reform in the federal civil Service will save the country between N60 to N120 billion in the next three years. Oyo-ita made the remark in a presentation at a retreat for Project Management Teams for the implementation of the 2017-2020 Federal civil service strategy and implementation plan (FCSSIP) at the Tinapa Lake side Hotel Calabar Capital of Cross River State.
She said that the amount would be saved from cleaning the Human Resource data on Integrated Personnel and Payroll and Information System (IPPIS). The Head of Service said that the transformation is expected to cost about N1.6 billion and could reach as high as N40 billion “given pay reform.” Oyo-ita said that in the course of the reform, not less than 25,000 civil servants’ skills would be sharpened through what she said would help to “revamped core modules”, adding that capacity development and training, talent sourcing and performance management were one of the policy thrust of the present administration.
Oyo-Ita stated that other areas of focus which would be addressed by the civil service under her watch shall include staff welfare, culture change, innovation, IPPIS and Civil service automation, among several others issues to be dealt with. Her words :”It is important to re-emphasise that the implementation of the strategy is expected to deliver N60-N120 billion savings from cleaning Human Resources data on IPPIS, N2.5 billion annual savings from digisiting content and at least 25,000 civil servants trained through revamped modules. According to her, the reforms are aimed at improving staff competencies and skills “through well targeted and funded programs across all grade levels.
She said that it will include a more innovative civil service that brings innovation from within and outside the service to improve service delivery. She decried that the nation’s civil service has lost most of its egg heads and talents due to movement for greener pastures, stressing that the current reforms are “home-grown,” and will not be forced down to throat of the country as it was done in the past by either the World Bank or other development partners.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Service Policies and Strategies office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Ndubuisi Osuji, said that the two-day retreat which is going to help sharpen the skills of permanent secretaries of the federation will feature technical presentations, demonstrations, team building exercise and discussions, among several other issues that will help to broaden the horizons of participants. Osuji said that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation was committed to reposition the public service sector for better performance, noting that it will provide high quality services to Nigerians and foreign investors.
