The charter for values and principles of public service and administration in Nigeria: a unique tool to enhance service delivery
A document of 34 articles contained in seven chapters through which the AU member states hope to promote universal values and principles in public administration, making emphasis on strengthening professionalism and ethics in the public service in African states, resting on respect for human rights and the desire to provide a good service to citizens. […]
A document of 34 articles contained in seven chapters through which the AU member states hope to promote universal values and principles in public administration, making emphasis on strengthening professionalism and ethics in the public service in African states, resting on respect for human rights and the desire to provide a good service to citizens.
The Charter is supposed to serve as a point of reference for efforts to standardize the activities of the public service in Africa, without neglecting the specificities of each country. It took as its basis the best practices to support a fair and efficient public administration. It equally reiterates the importance of the values and principles in the consolidation of commitments collectively taken by Member States to improve public service delivery, combat corruption, protect the rights of citizens as users of public service as well as promote good governance and sustainable development.
Civil service evolved in several advanced societies as a result of the need for a body of officials to implement the ordinances and other decisions of the monarchies. Civil servants were chosen on account of their skills and, especially in earlier times, their connections. They usually served for periods that were not merely long but spanned the reigns of two or more monarchs.
As absolute monarchies gave way to constitutional monarchies or republican systems, civil servants found new masters in the elected or unelected rulers who came and went with the tide of events, and these masters increasingly found in civil servants an indispensable instrument in the administration of the state.
In Nigeria, many of the problems of inadequate access to services provided by the State are caused by poor policy implementation and attitudinal disequilibrium of the public servants. Therefore, it is imperative to note that the inability to translate policy into practice also to a large extent relates to issues of governance and problems of prioritization, inadequate management systems, inefficient or ineffective use of resources, and problems of accountability.
The civil servants cannot escape responsibility for the rot that characterizes every aspect of the public sector in Nigeria. Because the only permanent feature of government – whether under military or civilian dispensation – is the civil service. It becomes important within the realm of the Nigeria Public Service to address issues of placing the public interest ahead of individual interest; the maintenance of public confidence in the integrity and objectivity of governance; openness to public inspection; transparency and accountability; and the ceaseless concern to fight against poverty in Nigeria.
From the foregoing, this paper examines the “Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration in Africa” as a tool for enhancing service delivery in Nigeria by revisiting the history of Nigeria’s Civil Service, and assessing the various reform regimes. It equally delves into the structure and characteristics of the civil services, and evaluates the inadequacies of the system as relates to efficiency in service delivery.
The establishment of the Nigerian Civil Service dates back to 13th March 1862 when the British government declared its interest in the Port and Island of Lagos under the title of the settlement of Lagos. A government was constituted and provision was made for the various posts of Governor, Chief Magistrate, Colonial Secretary and Senior Military Officers. The Offices of Private Secretary to the Governor and Auditor for Public Accounts, Chief Clerk, Collector of Customs, Judge and Registrar were established shortly afterwards
By 1906, the British Government had extended its authority over most of Nigeria. The Government began to establish its instruments of Law and Order such as Departments of Judiciary, Police, Prisons and added Public Works Department and the Departments of Customs, Ports and Telegraph, Marine and Mines in quick succession.
However, the origin of the Nigerian Civil Service can best be traced to the administration of Lord Lugard who was the Governor-General of the amalgamated administration of Northern and Southern Nigeria from 1914. The real structure of the service was put in place by Sir Hugh Clifford who succeeded Lord Lugard and was appointed Governor of Nigeria. He established a Central Secretariat in Lagos in 1921.
In 1939 similar Secretariats were established for the three broad groups of Provinces administered from Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna. The 1940s and 1950s saw the emergence of the Nationalist Nigerian Administrator and marked the beginning of a truly Nigerian Civil Service. This period also marked the beginning of pressures for Reforms in the Nigerian Political and Civil Service Structure.
Since 1945 various panels were set up by various governments to study and make recommendations for the reforming of the Civil Service. Prominent amongst these were the Davies Commission of 1945; the Harragin Commission of 1946; the Gorsuch Commission of 1954; the Mbanefo Commission of 1959; The outcome of the reports of the various panels impacted on the structure of the service and the remuneration and productivity of the Civil Servant.
Clearly, the Nigerian Civil Service has its origins in organizations established by the British in colonial times. A public service with colonial heritage of public administration during which the upper echelon of the civil service was dominated by the Europeans on whom were concentrated executive, judicial and legislative powers. Succeeding constitutional reviews increased the stake of Nigerians at the helm of the public service until Independence in 1960.
Subsequently there were commissions instituted and recommended changes in structure, context and substance of the civil service, but most of them remained mere recommendations. These are Margan Commission of 1963, the Adebo Commission of 1971 and the Udoji Commission of 1972-74. For some time, in the 1970s the military rulers did not appoint civilian political heads in the civil service and that resulted in the era of “super-permanent secretaries” which was eventually brought to an end in 1975 after Gowon’s regime, the civil service was purged to increase its efficiency.
A major change occurred with the adoption in 1979 of a constitution modeled on that of the United States. The Dotun Philips Panel of 1985 attempted to reform the Civil Service but ended up with no significant results.