As a part of efforts at repositioning the nation’s civil service for effective service delivery, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, has led a delegation on a study visit to Malaysia and Singapore.
The delegation is made up of top officials from federal and state governments and the visit is for one week.
Oyo-Ita, it would be recalled, upon assumption of office in 2016 promised to restore the integrity and dignity of the civil service.
It was in view of the dream that she developed the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) as a tool to guide the process of repositioning the civil service for effective service delivery.
The strategy places premium on building the capacity of the workforce (the civil servants) who are responsible for the interpretation and implementation of government policies.
The Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) under the supervision of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation has the mandate to provide competency and demand-driven training to civil servants to improve their capacity for effective and efficient service delivery.
The Deputy Director of PSIN (Press and Public Relations), Ekaete Umo, in a statement, said in line with the mandate, the PSIN was seeking ways to ensure that the Nigerian Public Service remained adequately positioned to carry out its functions and operations in line with global best practices hence the study visit embarked upon by the Oyo-Ita led delegation.
“The PSIN is coordinating a Bench Marking Study visit to Malaysia and Singapore under the leadership of Oyo-Ita to expose delegates to the workings of the Civil Service in the Asian countries with a view to improving the quality, efficiency and proficiency of the Civil Servants in Nigeria as a whole,” Umo stated.
The administrator of PSIN, Dr. Abdul-Ganiyu Obatoyinbo, in an interview with journalists, said the choice of Malaysia and Singapore was based on the fact that the two nations were among the countries with globally rated efficient civil service.
According to him, the selection of the institutes and organisations to be visited by delegates was made after wide consultations so as to enable delegates interact, share experiences and explore areas of partnerships aimed at improving the Nigerian Civil Service.