Daud Olatunji
President Bola Tinubu has told ministers and other public officials that Nigerians will increasingly judge the government by the results it delivers and the impact of its policies on their lives, rather than by announcements and promises.
The President said his administration was strengthening accountability mechanisms to ensure that government officials were measured by tangible outcomes and the value their ministries and agencies delivered to citizens.
Tinubu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja in an address delivered on his behalf by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Ude, at the presentation of two memoirs by the outgoing Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack.
The books are I Planted: A Memoir of Purposeful Service and Beyond the Mandate: A Memoir on Leadership, Legacy and Labour of Public Service.
The President said the requirement for ministers to regularly report progress on the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda was designed to promote a culture in which governance was assessed by delivery rather than rhetoric.
He said, “The requirement for ministers to report regularly on progress in implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda is an important part of creating a culture in which governance is increasingly judged not merely by what it announces but by what it delivers.”
Tinubu disclosed that he personally monitored the performance of ministries through the dashboard of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.
He said the system enabled him to assess progress without necessarily contacting ministers individually.
“I occasionally look at the dashboard of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit to get this information without having to call any minister,” he said.
The President said the objective was to move the public service away from bureaucratic routines and processes that produced little value to a system focused on measurable results.
He stressed that competence, integrity and innovation must remain central to public service.
According to him, “Our reforms in governance and the public service are therefore designed to change the way government works, to move from routine administration to purposeful delivery, from activity to outcomes, from processes that merely consume time to systems that produce measurable value for citizens.”
Digitalisation central to reforms
Tinubu also identified digitalisation as a key pillar of his public service reforms, directing the Federal Civil Service to deepen the use of technology across the public sector.
He said government institutions must become more efficient, data-driven and responsive to citizens.
“Digitalisation must continue to be a defining feature of the modern Nigerian Public Service,” the President said.
Tinubu also stressed the importance of institutional continuity, saying changes in political leadership should not disrupt the technical capacity and institutional memory required to sustain the Nigerian state.
“Governments may change. Political leadership may change. Policies may evolve. But the machinery of government must retain the institutional memory, technical competence and professional discipline required to sustain the Nigerian state,” he said.
The President commended Walson-Jack for her contribution to public service reforms, describing her as an official who understood the need for the civil service to evolve in response to Nigeria’s changing needs.
Jonathan: Merit must guide appointments
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who attended the event with his wife, Patience, called for greater emphasis on merit and integrity in public appointments.
Jonathan described Walson-Jack’s emergence as Head of Service as a significant achievement, noting that she became the first Bayelsan to occupy the position.
He recalled that when Walson-Jack moved from the state civil service to the Federal Civil Service, she was initially offered a position below the level she had attained.
Jonathan said he encouraged her to accept the appointment, assuring her that it could eventually lead to higher responsibilities.
According to him, her subsequent rise showed that difficult circumstances could sometimes prepare individuals for greater opportunities.
But the former President warned that public institutions could not function effectively when people were given responsibilities without consideration for competence.
“For every nation, every state, even in social life, the civil service of the state, if integrity and merit is not considered, especially leadership of a country, if you compromise merit, then you cannot go anywhere,” Jonathan said.
“You must use the right people for the right thing.”
Jonathan illustrated his argument with an analogy involving animals, saying that competence must determine who handles particular responsibilities.
He said, “A cat feeds on other animals, what we call carnivorous animals. A dog also feeds on other animals. A lion also feeds on other animals. But if you give the job of a lion to a cat, you cannot perform.”
He added, “So you must give the job of a lion to a lion, and the job of a cat to a cat.”
Walson-Jack: I didn’t write to flatter myself
In her remarks, Walson-Jack said the two books documented her 34-year career in public service, including its achievements, challenges, mistakes and reforms.
She said she deliberately avoided writing a memoir aimed at glorifying herself.
“I did not set out to write a book that flatters me. I set out to place on record my own account of a system I have had the honour and privilege of serving,” she said.
Walson-Jack said she had focused throughout her career on building institutions, reforming offices and mentoring younger public servants rather than seeking personal recognition.
“I planted, I believed, and I moved on. I did not chase credits for the institutions I helped to build, the offices I helped to reform, all the young officers I tried to mentor along the way,” she said.
She urged civil servants and young Nigerians aspiring to careers in government to draw lessons from her experiences.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, represented by his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, described Beyond the Mandate as a record of more than three decades of public service and institutional leadership.
He said the book offered lessons on leadership, integrity, institutional reform, human-centred governance and the responsibility of public officials to leave institutions stronger than they found them.
Former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, who presented I Planted, described Walson-Jack’s career as a demonstration of resilience, diligence and purposeful service.
Dickson said the memoir was particularly relevant at a time when commitment and professionalism appeared increasingly difficult to sustain in the public service.
Husband kicks against lobbying for appointments
The outgoing Head of Service’s husband, Nimi Walson-Jack, also called for an end to lobbying for senior public appointments.
He commended Tinubu for appointing his wife without lobbying or personal influence and urged the administration to maintain merit-based appointments.
He said the practice should continue with the incoming Head of Service and future appointments.
The ceremony came days before Walson-Jack’s tenure as Head of Service ends.
Tinubu has appointed Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan as her successor, effective August 27, with a mandate to consolidate ongoing reforms and deepen professionalism, efficiency and results-oriented governance in the Federal Civil Service.
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