CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

The civil service has always been the tool available to Nigerian government for the implementation of developmental goals and objectives. It is seen as a pivot for growth of Nigerian economy. It is responsible for the creation of an appropriate and conducive environment in which the economy can perform optimally and it is this catalytic role of the public service that propelled government all over the world to search continuously for better ways to deliver their services (Amoako, 2003).

Civil Service is the instrument which government uses to regulate and manage all aspects of the society. Thus, the condition of a society is largely determined by the public service. Besides, it is from this government bureaucracy that all the other institutions obtain various types of approval, license and permits which are critical to their existence and operation. Also, government allocations of resources pass through the bureaucracy to all other areas of the society directly and indirectly. Therefore, all other institutions perforce have to deal with the civil service at one point or the other in their existence and operations (Philips, 1990).

There have been several factors affecting the efficiency of the Nigeria civil service. Ajayi (1998) has noted the following: over staffing and the closely related poor remuneration of employees in public service as the key factors. Secondly, there are the issues of poor assessment of manpower needs and the use of wrong criteria to appraise staff performance. These two have led to poor recruitment procedures, inadequate training and ineffective supervision. There tends to be a lack of qualified technical support staff as opposed to the abundance of general staff. The failure to carry out periodic assessment of manpower needs of the various departments leads not only to uneconomic system of compensation but also to inadequate job description and poor physical working conditions.

There has also been considerable political interference in the process of personnel administration, leading to improper delegation of power, ineffective supervision and corruption. The resulting apathy has in turn led to unauthorized and unreasonable absenteeism, lateness, idleness and notably, poor workmanship all which have serious negative implication on the efficiency and productivity of the civil service. (Salisu, 2001).

The federal government initiated reforms aimed at repositioning the civil service for better efficiency and effectiveness. The reform of the public service therefore became the ultimate strategy for repositioning the service for the realization of their vision as part of a multi-sectorial approach to promoting good governance, ensuring sustainable democracy and accelerated transformation. Various policy initiative and legal instruments have been put in place for the effectuation of the multi-sectorial reforms of the present administration, as encapsulated in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, the medium term development strategy document of the administration. Two of the core components of the strategy relate to public service reforms and anti-corruption reforms through the inculcation of a culture of transparency and accountability (Adegoroye, 2005).

In spite of the gradual and systematic reforms and restructuring since May 29, 1999, after decades of military rule, the civil service is still considered stagnant and inefficient, and the attempts made in the past by panels had little effects. One is bond to wonder why this is so. Many writers have raised series of questions on the effectiveness of these reforms on human resource management and improved service in the civil service. Thus, a major preoccupation of the on-going government reforms is to restore professionalism of the civil service and ensure effective service delivery. It is in the light of this that this paper tries to analyze civil service reforms and human resources development in Nigeria, a case study of Oyo State Civil Service Commission