CIPM President seeks urgent transformation of public service

Mallam Ahmed Ladan Gobir, President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), has urged for a transformative change in Nigeria's public service sector. This call for change was made during the Ogun State 2026 Public Service Day Celebration Lecture at the Cultural Centre in Kuto, Abeokuta. The lecture, which was themed "Transforming the Public Service: Advancing Innovation, Accountability, Participation and Inclusion," attracted leaders from the public and civil services, academics, organized labor, private sector representatives, and other stakeholders.

Gobir emphasized that the main objective of public service is to enhance citizens' lives, rather than simply performing bureaucratic tasks. He pointed out that citizens interact with government primarily through the quality of services they receive. Gobir highlighted that government is an idea, while public service is its lived experience, and urged public institutions to shift their focus from merely measuring activities and processes to assessing the actual value and impact they deliver to citizens.

Regarding innovation, Gobir cautioned against merely digitizing inefficient systems, which he termed as "digitizing dysfunction." He argued that technology cannot compensate for poorly designed processes and recommended that institutions redesign procedures based on citizens' needs. In terms of accountability, Gobir described it as "the mathematics of trust." He stressed that public institutions must earn citizens' confidence through competence, fairness, transparency, consistency, and responsiveness.

Gobir also called for active citizen participation in governance, stating that citizens should have genuine opportunities to influence decisions that affect their lives. He noted that true inclusion in public services requires accommodating citizens from diverse socioeconomic, geographic, technological, and demographic backgrounds. He warned that services cannot be deemed inclusive if they remain inaccessible to significant portions of the population.

Furthermore, Gobir emphasized the importance of human resource management, asserting that no institution can transform without capable people. He advocated for stronger talent management, leadership development, performance management, and capability building. Gobir concluded by urging Ogun State to pursue transformation beyond infrastructure and technology by building responsive, effective, and citizen-centered institutions.

He stressed that innovation must change the method, accountability culture, relationship between government and citizens, and the inclusive architecture of public service.