Govt Should Update Public Service Rules – PSIN

• Govt Should Update Public Service Rules – PSIN

Most of the legislation presently in use in the country are outdated and should be reviewed, while the public service rules should be updated in line with modern contemporary needs and global best standards, the Public Service Institute of Nigeria has said.

This was part of the findings by senior civil servants after a weeklong benchmarking study tour of Malaysia and Singapore, which was led by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita; with Heads of Service in the states as well as federal and state permanent secretaries also on the team.

The Administrator and Chief Executive Officer, PSIN, Dr Abdul-Ganiyu Obatoyinbo, according to a statement by the agency’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ekaete Umoh, disclosed the findings of the team to journalists on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

He listed workers’ commitment, dedication and implementation of extant rules as part of measures, which should be taken into consideration to enhance the mandate of public service in the country.

According to him, there will be no other way to make the nation’s public service effective, except Nigerians see themselves as change agents and not leaving it to the government.

Obatoyinbo said, “We all have to support our leaders, be committed and believe in their country. We have to see ourselves as change agents.

“We discovered that most of our legislations are outdated and we have to review and update the public service rules. There are also some policies that need to be reviewed to meet the modern contemporary needs and challenges.”

He added, “There is also the need for periodic training and fine-tuning of the curriculum. Every civil servant must attend the training for at least seven days and it is compulsory under the nation’s law.

“This study tour will not be a jamboree as it has the consent of President Muhammadu Buhari. In addition, we have all the Heads of Service of all the states and we all see things for ourselves. We all need to imbibe the spirit of patriotism to fast-track the developmental processes.”

Oyo-Ita stated that the Federal Government was committed to repositioning the civil service for a better and more efficient service delivery in line with the change agenda of the present administration.

The Kogi State Head of Service, Deborah Ogunmola, said the civil service of Malaysia and Singapore developed because of the commitment of the workers.

“They love their country and are dedicated. We are going to our various states to impact what we learnt and it was good that all the heads of the service of various states were together,” she stated.

On her part, the Kaduna State Head of Service, Hajiya Bariatu Mohammed, said, “Nigeria has the best of laws but lacking implementation and compliance.”

She stated, “We saw lots of innovation in Malaysia and Singapore. Kaduna State has many innovations too. They have integrity units in both countries, especially in Singapore, which is very interesting. They (Singapore) have rules similar to ours but they complied with theirs.

“Our problem here in Nigeria is that we have one of the best rules but we do not comply with them. I will work to change the attitudes of civil servants to start complying with rules in the interest of the society.”