The Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms Dr. Joe Abah has unveiled the current key reforms in the Civil Service. Dr. Abah unveiled the current reforms at a lecture he delivered at the Institute for Security Studies in Abuja recently to participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course on “Public Service Reforms and Institutions Building”.

According to Dr. Abah, one of the key reforms that the Civil Service is currently engaged in is the development of a new Performance Management System to replace the discredited Annual Performance Evaluation Report. The new Performance Management System (PMS) to be launched later this year sets performance targets, agreed up front with clear key performance indicators (KPIs). The system will reward good performance and highlight and sanction poor performance thus base career advancement on performance and not length of service or brilliance in examinations only.
Dr. Abah added that Government is also focusing on Agencies and Parastatals and that BPSR has conducted a holistic review of both the Oronsaye report and the Government White Paper that will drive the implementation. He said that beyond rationalization of Agencies to reduce cost, BPSR has developed a new Self-Assessment Tool with which Agencies can improve on their performances. He added that the focus on Agencies is important because they deal directly with the Nigerian on the street. Example of Agencies are Immigration Service and Asokoro General Hospital.
Dr. Abah further said that Public Service Reforms can improve efficiency and effectiveness and promote better use of resources. He said that by linking IPPIS to Bank verification numbers, more than 23,000 people collecting multiple salaries have been identified thus saving more than N200 billion and 65,000 ghost workers exposed by IPPIS. Similarly, the audit of Security Agencies payroll has already revealed 43,000 ghost workers and saved Government N50 billion.