Changing narratives: X-raying Walson-Jack’s 100 days as Head of Service
Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack assumed office on August 14 as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) after the exit of Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan.
On assumption of office, Walson-Jack expressed happiness to reach the pinnacle of her career and pledged to build and improve on the already laid foundation by her predecessor, Yemi-Esan, and other past Heads of Service.
She reiterated the use of technology as embedded in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan-2021 to 2025 (FCSSIP-25) to continue with the ongoing reforms to transform the sector into a world-class service.
To achieve her promises, Walson-Jack, during the week-long ceremony to mark her 100 days in office, initiated and inaugurated some key innovative activities to harness work efficiency in the nation’s civil service sector.
While inaugurating GovMail, Service Wise GPT, and the Nigeria Federal Civil Service Online Academy, the HCSF said it was her pledge, upon assumption of duty, to harness the power of technology.
This, she said, was aimed at repositioning the nation’s civil service as a bastion of efficiency, professionalism, and service excellence.
She explained that GovMail was introduced as an official email platform dedicated to civil servants to secure and centralise the communication tool designed to enhance collaboration, streamline workflows, and ensure the integrity of official correspondence.
“By adopting this platform, we are fostering a culture of professionalism and accountability in our interactions while safeguarding sensitive information critical to national governance,’’ she said.
In the same vein, Walson-Jack inaugurated a free eye screening program for all federal civil servants across ministries, departments, and agencies in the public service sector.
Inaugurating the program, she emphasised its alignment with the FCSSIP-2025, specifically the staff welfare pillar.
Walson-Jack said the initiative, in partnership with the Tulsi Chanrai Foundation (TCF), aimed to provide professional eye care, early detection of eye-related conditions, and prompt intervention to prevent long-term complications.
The event with the theme: ‘Marching to greatness: Celebrating HCSF’s 100 days in office’ also witnessed the unveiling of four key transformative documents to bolster the principles and practices of public service in the country.
This is with the view to instilling a culture that values hard work and motivates federal civil servants.
Unveiling the documents, Walson-Jack explained that the government was embarking on a journey to redefine the ethos of public service delivery in Nigeria.
This is in addition to setting the stage for a civil service that is professional and efficient, globally competitive, and responsive to the aspirations of all Nigerians.
Walson-Jack listed them to include rewards/recognition policy and guidelines, incentives and consequence management policy and guidelines, and a mentoring framework and protocol on the use of the Federal Government Secretariat.
She said the policies were the representation of a balanced approach to fostering accountability and responsibility while ensuring that outstanding and performance workers are rewarded.
Walson-Jack also said the policies would also enforce measures to address misconduct and inefficiency by the workers while discharging their duties.
Other activities to mark the ceremony included the introduction of war rooms to monitor and fast-track the implementation of FCSSIP-2025.
“The initiative is dedicated to addressing each of the pillars and crucial enablers of the reform plan, intended to tackle the specific challenges associated with each pillar,” she said.
Other activities included hosting the maiden edition of a service-wide virtual meeting tagged ‘Public Service Live’ to engage civil servants quarterly on general interaction and organising a dinner party for 332 newly promoted directors across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Stakeholders who attended the events lauded Walson-Jack’s steps she has taken within the 100 days that she had spent in the office.
Among them was Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, who commended Walson-Jack for her remarkable achievements within the shortest period she served in the office.
“I am here to congratulate the Head of Service for not just achieving 100 days but using that period as an opportunity to put across to civil servants the agenda of four transformative documents to inspire the workers.
“I commend this agenda to every public servant, and not just that, I want to give you an insight as to how critical your role is in the transformation from what you are now.
“A more vibrant, efficient, and technology-driven body of civil servants is very important to President Bola Tinubu’s agenda.
“It is also crucial to the success of his macroeconomic reforms, which are all aimed at growing the economy, creating jobs, and reducing poverty,” Edun said.
Also, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, an ex-Head of Service, who described Mrs. Walson-Jack as a woman of vision, said further the steps being taken by Walson-Jack were the first of their kind in Nigeria’s civil service system.
“I was carefully observing Walson-Jack when I was serving as the HOCSF as she was working with me during my time. I must say that with all that I have seen, she knows the job better than I did,’’ he said.
On her part, Muinah Adewunmi, Director, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, said Walson-Jack had changed the narrative in the service by creating programs to motivate workers.
“For some of us, we almost gave up on the service having work for some years without anything to show up in terms of promotions, but her innovative programs are wonderful,” she said.
Some civil servants said Walson-Jack’s concerted efforts at reshaping the civil service were motivating, adding that they were looking forward to working with her to give their best to the service.
By Okon Okon
