Tinubu, Diri, Fubara, others to attend Walson-Jack’s book launch

President Bola Tinubu, Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr Zacchaeus Adedeji, are among dignitaries expected at the launch of two books by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack.

The books, I Planted: A Memoir of Purposeful Service and Beyond the Mandate: A Memoir on Leadership, Legacy, & Labour of Public Service, will be presented in Abuja on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.

Also expected are Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, the 36 state governors, ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs and members of the diplomatic corps.

The books, which follow Walson-Jack’s first publication, Roses in Thorns: An Autobiography, chronicle her experiences and lessons from her career in the state and federal civil services. They also continue a literary tradition established by her late father, Christian Atani Okpofaa Otobotekere, the Okun XIX and Amananaowei of Tombia, Bayelsa State, who authored 14 books before his death in 2023.

The books will be reviewed by Dr Joe Abah, former Director-General of the Bureau for Public Service Reforms, and have received endorsements from prominent public policy experts and business leaders, including Prof. Tunji Olaopa, Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission; legal practitioner George Etomi; and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Bank Holdings.

Olaopa described I Planted as an account of Walson-Jack’s experience as a pioneer civil servant in a new state and her efforts to maintain integrity while navigating workplace politics. He said the book would be useful to civil servants, development workers and professionals seeking to understand the challenges of public service.

For his part, Etomi described the book as an important contribution to Nigeria’s public service history and a guide for those committed to making government more efficient and worthy of public trust. “I commend it as an important contribution to Nigeria’s public service history and as an inspiring guide for all who believe that government can still be made efficient, humane, and worthy of public trust,” he said.

Walson-Jack, an Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) and Member of the National Institute (mni), began her public service career in the Rivers State Civil Service in 1992 before moving to the Bayelsa State Civil Service after the state’s creation in 1996. She joined the Federal Civil Service in 2009, became a Permanent Secretary in 2017 and served across six ministries before President Tinubu appointed her Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in August 2024.