Olaopa emerges AAPSCOMS Vice President
The Association of African Public Service Commissions (AAPSCOMS) has elected Prof. Tunji Olaopa its Vice President for the West African Region.
Olaopa, who is the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC ) in Nigeria was elected during the 6th General Assembly and Conference of AAPSCOMS held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6 to 8 November, 2024.
In his acceptance speech, Olaopa committed to not only deepening the repositioning plan already being implemented in the FCSC of Nigeria, but also to take the Civil Service Commissions of the 36 states of the Nigerian federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on board.
According to him, public service commissions across the continent are stuck in the old bureaucratic mode with its mostly outdated systems and processes.
“They have consequently not been able to take advantage of many frontier-shifting public management innovations and smart cum good practices, thus constrained in the discharge of their roles as gatekeepers for such essential and defining profession as the public administration vocation which professionalism and capability readiness is core critical to the African country’s different transformation journey.”
Meanwhile, Oaopa’s counterpart in Kenya, Amb. Anthony Muchiri, was elected the President.
In his inaugural address, Muchiri pledged to revamp the association, expand the membership, and make the association a formidable force for championing the transformation of public service across the continent.
“AAPSCOMS is now 16 years old, and there is a need to revitalise it to attain our objectives. I will strive to foster closer collaboration and stronger ties among our members through regular consultations and knowledge-sharing platforms,” said Amb. Muchiri.
He promised to lobby for more partnerships from private organisations, government, and non-governmental institutions to achieve the set AAPSCOMS goals.
Other members elected as AAPSCOMS Vice Presidents are the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Tanzania, Lady Justice (Rtd) Hamisa Kalombola, representing the Eastern Region; and the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of South Africa, Prof. Samadoda Fikeni, representing the Southern Region.
The newly elected AAPSCOMS leaders will serve for a term of two years, after which an election will be held during the 7th AAPSCOMS General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2026.
