On day two of the International Civil Service Conference (ICSC) 2026, organised by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation under the theme “Reforms, Resilience and Results,” Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) Chairman Tunji Olaopa warned that prolonged recruitment embargoes have hollowed out Nigeria’s federal public service, weakened merit, distorted workforce planning and undermined the government’s ability to attract and retain skilled staff.

In his presentation titled: “Guidance, Merit and Digital Reform: Rewiring the Federal Civil Service”, Olaopa argued that long-standing hiring freezes have turned employment from a strategic governance tool into a bottleneck that pushes talent away and weakens institutional capacity.

“I think a situation where we are doing embargo for so long has made the service to lose the value of using employment as a tool for recruiting the service,” he told delegates, warning that the service is already losing trained hands to the private sector and the diaspora. He said government must restore its status as an employer of choice through fresh thinking and innovation in employment policy.

Olaopa said, “I think a situation where we are doing embargo for so long has made the service to lose the value of using employment as a tool for recruiting the service. Good people will come into the public service, they will get the initial training and they will move into other sectors. The rate at which we are losing them, even to the diaspora, is incredible.

“For government to restore its status as an employer of choice, we need to bring a lot of innovation into employment policies. Whatever we do with merit and competitiveness, if we do not resolve the competitive wage issue and commensurate conditions of service as drivers of merit, we are just playing to the gallery.”

He maintained that recruitment should be restored as a strategic tool for filling critical gaps, building institutional memory and sustaining service delivery, rather than being treated only as a fiscal constraint. He said prolonged embargoes have also made it difficult for the civil service to respond to changing public needs, even when capable people are available and willing to serve.

He further linked recruitment reform to digital transformation, saying the service must move from paper-heavy and manual processes to interoperable databases, digital identities and online recruitment systems that are transparent, efficient and user-friendly.

According to him, performance appraisal must also shift from mere credential-based assessment to measurable outputs and observable competence.

The FCSC chairman stressed that merit-based recruitment cannot work in isolation from competitive pay and decent conditions of service. He argued that without fair remuneration, the public service will continue to lose trained officers after investing time and resources in their development.

He also called for a stronger culture of professionalism, transparency and accountability across the commission and the wider civil service.

Olaopa said the FCSC must lead by example by professionalising its own processes and ensuring that appointments into the commission and other strategic institutions are based on track record, expertise and integrity, rather than political influence or personal connections.

He warned that unless the civil service deliberately reforms its structures and incentives, it will remain trapped in low productivity and poor retention. (The Sun)