More than five thousand delegates have converged on Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to participate in the maiden edition of the International Civil Service Conference, 2025.
Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, said the conference was borne out of the passion for renewal, creativity, and bold progress in public service.
She said as the world evolves, the civil service must become a platform for creative, agile, and resilient governance.
The Head of Service also noted the urgent need to move from plans to implementation and from ideas to measurable change.
“We are gathered as reformers, thinkers, practitioners, and doers bound together by a common belief that the civil service remains one of the greatest instruments of national development and global stability.”
She emphasised that the conference provides a rare opportunity to exchange ideas, build bridges across borders and explore shared challenges with a unified commitment to public sector excellence.
She therefore, noted that the conference is not just a mere learning event, but a catalyst for real-world action.
“Through MoU signings, roundtables, and networking platforms, the conference will foster strategic alliances including bilateral, multilateral, and regional partnerships to support reform implementation, knowledge transfer, and resource mobilization.”
Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack added that the conference is a declaration that business as usual is no longer acceptable.
“It is a commitment that we will not reform alone. It is a signal that we are ready to rejuvenate, to innovate, and to accelerate.”
The Vice President and Country Director, Nigeria DAI, Dr. Joe Abah in his submission said politicians must see Civil Servants as drivers of growth rather than nuisance.
According to him, it is the role of civil servants to ensure that politicians develop policies that benefits of the people.
“If they continue to see the civil servants as an inconvenient nuisance, then they will pay them as badly as they pay them now and nothing will ever change.”
Galaxy Backbone Limited said Nigerians must embrace the new digital transformation.
“You can see the head of service saying that every Ministry and Agencies of government must be fully digitalized before December. So that shows you that we are ready, we have everything ready.
” And Galaxy is playing a major role in this. We are one of the most kept secrets of this country in terms of the digital transformation. We are the backbone that everybody is riding on. We have everything, we have the expertise, we have the infrastructure already in this country. And that is why we are also championing the issue of data protection. Nigeria is ready.”
The Conference serves as a critical stocktaking moment for the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025, (FCSSIP 25).