Nepotism affecting civil service recruitment, promotion —Report

A report initiated by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of
the Federation has revealed the prevalence of nepotism in the
recruitment and promotion in the Federal Civil Service.

The report entitled: ‘Federal Civil Service Strategy and
Implementation Plan (2017-2020): Culture Diagnostic Survey Report
for the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria,’ was launched by the Head
of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Tuesday in
Abuja.

She explained that the service-wide Culture Diagnostic Survey
was deployed via Survey Monkey targeting about 10,000 Federal Civil
Servants and that the questionnaire administered online elicited
response from a total of 5,876 employees.

She said that in order to reposition the Federal Civil Service
towards ensuring productivity and efficient service delivery in the
country, there was the need to understand the baseline culture,
behaviour and mindset as provided by the report.

The second paragraph on page 4 of the summary of the findings of
the survey gave the details of nepotism in recruitment and
promotion.

The report said, “Overall, Federal Civil Service employees
reported a strong level of organisational identity. For example,
respondents reported high level of the knowledge of what the FCS
stands for, knowledge of the mandate of their Ministries,
Departments and Agencies, pride in what the FCS represents, and
attainability of the mission of the FCS.

“However, findings of the CDS also suggest that the FCS is
plagued with low morale and lack of motivation among employees. In
particular, dominant mindsets include the prevalence of nepotism in
recruitment and promotion, non-conducive work environment and lack
of adequate work tools; too much emphasis on seniority and
‘wait-for-your-time practice-which stifle innovation and
creativity.”

Other findings of the survey included lack of accountability
resulting in impunity, poor salaries and differences in pay
structures, rigidity and bureaucratic bottlenecks and general lack
of commitment and professionalism.

Oyo-Ita also said that the Federal Civil Service was aging,
going by the employment status of the respondents, which indicated
that 51 per cent of the respondents had served in the Federal Civil
Service for at least 15 years with a little more than one-third (34
per cent) on Grade Level 12-14 while 39 per cent had worked at the
FCS for less than 10 years.

She added that this was an indication that there were more older
people in the service than the younger ones which she said
accounted for large number of retirees from the service in the last
two years.

Speaking on whether there was immediate plan to recruit fresh
graduates to boost the workforce, Oyo-Ita said recruiting new
workers was a function of resources because of the wage bill,
adding that a strategic plan had been developed to address all the
areas of concerns raised in the report.

The HoS, however, stressed that discipline was one of the areas
the service was weak in the past but said the Federal Civil Service
management committee was currently working with the Federal Civil
Service Commission to ensure that disciplinary issues were
addressed promptly and fairly handled.

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