Olaopa moves to rewire Nigeria’s civil service, deepen meritocracy
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has said the commission is committed to “rewiring the organisational brain of the public service” to strengthen policy and institutional intelligence through revamped standard operating procedures.
Olaopa spoke on Tuesday in Asaba, Delta State, when he led federal commissioners of the FCSC and heads of state civil service commissions on a courtesy visit to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori during the 2026 Annual Council of the Civil Service Commissions of the Federation.
He said the FCSC, in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s objective of building a $1 trillion economy, was determined to deepen meritocracy in recruitment and promotion while upholding the federal character principle.
He explained that electronic recruitment, computer-based tests and reforms to the performance evaluation system were helping to curb sharp practices, corruption and politicisation in the civil service.
According to him, replacing the Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) system with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and performance bonding for top management officials was part of efforts to restore competency-based human resource management and re-professionalise the federal civil service.
The Deputy Governor, Monday John Onyeme, speaking on behalf of the governor, thanked thanked Olaopa for approving Delta State as host of the 2026 council.
He said that, in keeping with the state’s slogan, “Delta no dey carry last,” civil servants in the state were adequately trained and retrained and well remunerated.
The governor urged the FCSC chairman to encourage other state governments to emulate Delta’s approach, stressing that continuous training and improved remuneration were essential to preparing civil servants for the rapidly changing demands of the modern world.
