Iyobosa Uwugiaren writes that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, may have embarked on a tough mission to build a federal civil service that works for Nigerians.
For the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, who was appointed in August by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the true measure of leadership lies not in the office he occupies, but in the institution he leaves behind: a productive, professional and citizen-focused civil service capable of earning public trust.
When the easygoing Head of the Civil Service of the Federation assumed office on August 27, 2026, he took charge of an institution crucial to the machinery of government. Indeed, through the federal civil service, policies are translated into programmes, projects and public services that affect more than 250 million Nigerians.
For Enitan, the assignment goes beyond occupying the highest administrative position in the federal civil service; it presents an opportunity to strengthen an institution whose usefulness ultimately depends on its ability to deliver results for the people it serves.
His message at the start of his tenure was clear: no individual can transform the civil service alone. According to him, meaningful progress requires the commitment of permanent secretaries, directors, heads of agencies and civil servants across all cadres. This emphasis on collective responsibility offers an insight into the legacy he has promised to build. Rather than make transformation synonymous with one officeholder, Enitan wants public servants to share ownership of an institution that must remain effective long after its leaders have moved on.
Following his swearing-in by President Tinubu, Enitan succeeded Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who retired at the age of 60.
He described his appointment as a call to service, expressed gratitude to the President for the confidence reposed in him, and pledged to discharge his responsibilities with “humility, dedication and integrity.”
But rather than pursue sweeping changes simply to distinguish his tenure, Enitan promised to consolidate existing initiatives and improve the systems through which they are implemented.
“I am not going to reinvent the wheel. I will rather lubricate the wheel so that it can deliver efficiently and more productively so that I can fulfil the aspirations and expectations of Nigerians,” he stated after his swearing-in.
According to one of his aides, the statement reflected a preference for continuity with improvement. In a large bureaucracy, reforms require time to take root, administrative processes must be strengthened, and institutional gains must survive changes in leadership.
A system person, Enitan acknowledged his predecessor’s contributions to the transformation of the federal civil service, noting that her tenure advanced key initiatives and established a foundation for further progress. His pledge to continue from where Walson-Jack stopped, according to an insider, signalled an intention to treat these initiatives as institutional responsibilities rather than the personal projects of individual leaders.
Going by his stated intentions, the challenge is to turn continuity into measurable improvement. Preserving existing frameworks matters only if they become more effective, weaknesses are addressed, and public servants can demonstrate tangible progress in their work.
For the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the opportunity is to strengthen the foundations already laid while ensuring that the civil service becomes better equipped to meet the expectations of President Tinubu and, by extension, Nigerians.
As he stated at the beginning of his tenure, at the centre of his agenda is the EPIC Culture, built around Efficiency, Productivity, Incorruptibility and Citizen-Centredness. These principles define the standards he wants embedded across ministries, departments and agencies. They also provide a practical framework for assessing whether the civil service is fulfilling its responsibilities.
In Enitan’s thinking, efficiency requires the responsible use of public resources and the reduction of unnecessary delays. Productivity demands results rather than routine activity alone. Incorruptibility places integrity at the heart of official conduct, while citizen-centredness requires public institutions to respond to the needs and experiences of the people they serve.
For many public administration experts, the quality of public administration is often reflected in everyday encounters: how quickly an application is processed, how fairly an administrative decision is made, how reliably a public programme operates, or how respectfully an official treats a service user. These experiences shape public confidence in government. The EPIC Culture, in line with its design, is expected to have lasting value only if it moves beyond official declarations to influence workplace behaviour, management decisions and service delivery.
That will require leadership by example, clear performance expectations, effective supervision and consistent adherence to ethical standards. It will also demand that public servants recognise that completing a procedure is not necessarily the same as achieving a useful result. If these values become part of the civil service’s institutional identity, they could outlast the tenure of Enitan, who is currently promoting them.
Enitan has identified the effective implementation of government policies, programmes and projects as a central priority. “My task is very simple, and it is just to make the Federal Civil Service more innovative, more productive and more professional, as well as to be more responsive to the yearnings of Nigerians, where the civil service as a body translates government policies, programmes and projects into concrete results,” he promised.
To be sure, the statement identifies a critical responsibility of public administration: bridging the gap between government intentions and outcomes experienced by citizens. As experts would argue, policies and public announcements do not automatically improve living conditions; their impact depends on planning, coordination, resource management, execution and monitoring. The civil service occupies a pivotal position in this process, providing professional advice, coordinating institutions and supporting implementation.
Enitan’s task is to strengthen this capacity while supporting the federal government’s reform objectives and the Renewed Hope Agenda of his principal, President Tinubu. Permanent secretaries, directors and other senior officials have a particularly important role in ensuring that responsibilities are clearly assigned, implementation is monitored, and administrative obstacles are addressed. Yet the responsibility extends throughout the workforce, because the daily decisions of officers at every level influence the speed and quality of government services.
In the long run, the success of public policy must be judged not merely by its announcement or approval, but by whether it achieves its intended purpose. A civil service that consistently delivers on this responsibility would provide one of the clearest measures of Enitan’s contribution.
Perhaps that is why Enitan urged civil servants across the federal establishment to embrace professionalism, innovation, accountability and results-oriented service delivery. Those familiar with his policies and programmes said his focus on officers on Grade Levels 8 to 14 underscores the importance of engaging employees who carry out many of the operational and administrative tasks of government.
His thinking may be that reform cannot be sustained if it remains the concern of senior officials alone; officers who process applications, maintain records, prepare correspondence and attend to citizens must understand how their work contributes to institutional performance.
By encouraging ownership across the hierarchy, Enitan may be seeking to make improvement part of everyday working life rather than an initiative connected exclusively to the Head of Service’s office. This will require clear communication, appropriate professional development and a culture that recognises diligence while addressing misconduct and persistent underperformance. It also calls for openness to innovation as technology and changing public expectations reshape administrative work.
In line with Enitan’s statement from day one, collective responsibility is not simply a message of solidarity; it is a practical requirement for improving the performance of a complex institution. Some observers of the federal civil service have argued that Enitan’s leadership will be tested by his ability to turn that principle into coordinated action across the federal civil service.
Nevertheless, records show that Enitan brings experience from several important institutions of the federal government. Born on December 12, 1966, and hailing from Osun State, he attended Ajibode Grammar School, Ibadan, and the College of Arts and Science, Ile-Ife. He then obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Lagos in 1988 and a Master of Science degree in Public Policy Analysis from Nasarawa State University, Keffi, in 2015. He had wanted to enrol for a doctorate after his retirement, but his current appointment came along.
His academic background combines financial training with public policy analysis, disciplines relevant to resource management, institutional administration and policy implementation. Before his appointment as HCSF, he served as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Aviation and the Office of the Vice President. These postings exposed him to different dimensions of government administration, coordination and policy delivery.
As the most senior permanent secretary, he emerged to lead the federal civil service, a role that demands coordination across numerous ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the ability to promote common professional standards. His experience may have provided a foundation for the assignment. But its ultimate value will be determined by how effectively he applies it to strengthening institutional performance and improving the delivery of public services.
Enitan has pledged to help restore public confidence in the civil service, but that confidence cannot be secured through declarations alone; it must be earned through fairness, transparency, competence and consistent performance. Observers have argued that administrative delays, unclear procedures, weak coordination and unethical conduct can undermine trust. Conversely, reliable services, transparent processes and timely decisions can help rebuild it.
The practical implications of Enitan’s agenda are therefore clear: public institutions must become more dependable, responsibilities must be taken seriously, and performance must be assessed against results.
Progress will require cooperation among the Head of Service’s office, ministry leadership, administrative officers and other stakeholders. It will also demand sustained attention to implementation rather than treating policy statements as evidence of achievement. The extent to which Enitan restores public confidence will ultimately be determined by what Nigerians experience when they interact with government—not simply by what the civil service promises to deliver.
What legacy will Enitan leave behind? For a public servant entrusted with leading the federal civil service, legacy is not necessarily defined by the number of initiatives launched or the changes announced at the beginning of a tenure. It is measured by what remains when the officeholder departs: stronger institutions, enduring professional standards and a workforce better equipped to serve the public.
Enitan may have set out a clear direction. He wants to strengthen existing administrative frameworks, embed the EPIC Culture and ensure that public servants at every level take responsibility for results. The test is whether these commitments become established practices rather than aspirations associated with his tenure.
Will official processes become more efficient? Will integrity guide administrative decisions? Will policies produce measurable benefits? Will citizens encounter a civil service that treats their needs as a central responsibility? The answers will determine the significance of his leadership.
Yet the most distinctive measure of Enitan’s legacy may be what happens after his watch has ended. If the systems he strengthens continue to function, if the values he promotes remain part of official conduct, and if public servants sustain improvements without depending on the presence of one individual, his contribution will have acquired lasting significance.
That is the subterranean meaning of his insistence that no individual can transform the civil service alone. The leader may provide direction, but the institution must carry the work forward.
For Enitan, success will, at the end of the day, mean leaving behind more than a record of policies and initiatives. It will mean helping to build a civil service that works because its people understand their responsibilities, its systems support effective performance, and its commitment to Nigerians endures beyond any single tenure.