CIVIL SERVICE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

An understanding of the nature of Civil Service in a society is very vital for the study of the administrative practices of such place. Civil Service is the hub through which public administrative work centers on. Important areas considered for discussion here are the definition and functions, principles, control of civil service, the new civil service in Nigeria and civil service in Nigeria, 1980 to 1988.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

It is intended that by the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Define and list the functions of Civil Service 
2. Mention various principles of civil service 
3.  Describe the control of civil service 
4.  Examine the colonial/First Republic Civil Service in Nigeria 
5.  Discuss New Civil Service in Nigeria 
6.  Examine Civil Service in Nigeria, 1980 to 1988 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Definition and Functions

Civil service is the body that normally functions with the executive arm of government comprising of men and women who constitute the permanent staff of the departments of government. They are professional administrators. Sometimes they are generally refered to as public service.

Functions of the Civil Service

1. Conversion of policies that have been formulated by the cabinet into action 
2. Enforcement of laws enacted by the legislature
3.  Provision of expert advice on either positive or negative implications of policies intended to be formulated by government
4.  Planning, organization and supervision 
5. Advice on measures of improving the quality of life of citizens and making government more efficient 
6.  Ensuring continuity of government in spite of changes 

Self – Assessment Exercise 3.1

Define and state the functions of the Civil Service?

3.2 Principles of Civil Service

Civil service has some guiding principles in discharging its duties, these principles include:

1.  Political Neutrality: The first principle guiding the performance of the public service is political neutrality. By this we mean that a public officer does not become involved in partisan politics. He serves the government of the day with dedication. If that government is replaced by another one, he serves the new government with the same degree of loyalty and dedication. He does not allow his personal views to interfere with his performance of his functions. 
2. Impartiality: Similar to political neutrality, the civil servant serves all members of the public to the best of his ability. He does not favour anyone. He does not belong to any political party or faction, at least, not openly.
3. Anonymity: In an effort to protect the neutrality and impartiality of civil servants, they are made to operate behind the glare of publicity. They advise their ministers and political executives but they do not make open or partisan speeches. The ministers and politicians make such public statements and defend programmes. Anonymity extends to the actual operations of the service. Decisions taken are regarded as the decision of all. Everybody is responsible for it. This is the principle of collective responsibility which also ensures the neutrality of any particular individual. 
4. Permanence: Governments come and go but the civil service remains. Public officers are not changed each time there is a change in government. As long as they do their work properly and do not commit any crime, their tenure of office is guaranteed. 
5. Merit and Achievement: Another principle of the civil service is that recruitment into the service is based on merit. This means that certain standards and educational qualifications are set, and only those who satisfy them are considered for employment. This is different from some traditional systems where sons succeed their fathers automatically. In addition, under civil service rules, promotions are based on merit and achievement and not on patronage or favor by a godfather (Leo and Oyewole, 1988) 

Self – Assessment Exercise 3.2

Mention the principles of civil service

3.3 Control of the Civil Service

Any organization where people operate without laws controlling their actions will be vulnerable to anarchy. To avoid this, an elaborate network of rules and regulations govern the behavior of civil servants. These are divisible into internal and external controls:

The internal control includes:

1. The general orders: These are the body of regulations which outline the conditions of service and responsibilities of public officers. Closely related to this is the Financial Instructions which prescribes the procedures for the collection of spending of public funds. It is important to note that civil servants are expected to pass examinations on the General Orders as part of their knowledge and experience 
2.  Control by the Ministry of Establishments: This Ministry deals largely with all matters affecting the conditions of service of public officers. Its regulations affect all other ministries, and thus it can guarantee uniform standard in matters such as grading incremental credits and so on. 
3.  Control within the Hierarchy: Each Ministry is hierarchically structured with the Permanent Secretary being the overall supervisor of the ministry. He can discipline those under him in many ways. For minor offences, the officer may be cautioned. In more serious cases, a query may be issued and in the most serious cases, a disciplinary committee may be set up, or the matter may be sent to the Public Service Commission for investigation and necessary punishment. 

The external control of civil service

There are other mechanisms outside the civil service which exercise some control on the service:

1. Control by parliament: The Legislature authorizes funds for various ministries and departments. Through this power of the purse, it could review the performance of the officers to see whether or not they have carried out government policies. If a department has failed to perform satisfactorily, the budget for it may be cut. 
2.  Control by administrative courts: Tribunals or Public Complaints Commission. By whatever names they are called, these are institutions set up to ensure that public officers are above board in the performance of their duties. Citizens who feel that an officer has not performed well can approach a tribunal or complaints commission for redress. Such complaints are investigated and recommendations made. As the public becomes more aware, the kind of control exercise by tribunals and public complaints commission will become more important. 
3.  Control by the Court: In case of gross abuse of office, an officer will be handed over to the court for necessary disciplinary action. 

3.4 The Colonial / First Republic Civil Service in Nigeria

The civil service in Nigeria during the colonial era and the first republic was organized along the lines of the British Civil Service with four main classes – the Administrative, the Executive, Clerical

and Manipulative Classes. These four classes used to operate as if there were watertight compartments. It was difficult for a civil servant to move from one class to a higher one. The Administrative class was the highest and most prestigious and people used to call them the senior service. People in this class worked closely with the politicians in advisory capacity.

The members of the administrative class were university graduates with good degrees who in addition passed the entrance examinations and interviews. The entry qualifications for the other levels were lower, so are the salaries and benefits. These classes provide needed

supporting services to the Administrative class.

Self - Assessment Exercise 3.4

Examine the colonial/ First Republic Civil service in Nigeria

3.5 The New Civil Service in Nigeria

The new civil service in Nigeria marked a departure of the old rigid system to a more flexible and result oriented system. For example, following the Udoji Commission Report of 1974, the Federal

Government of Nigeria decided to abolish the four classes. In its place a unified grading system was introduced. Instead of having classes, the jobs in the public service were graded from level 1 to 17.

The highest positions were 17 while the lowest were 1. All public officers and jobs were fitted into this unified system.

Self – Assessment Exercise 3.5

Discuss the new Civil Service in Nigeria

3.6 Civil Service in Nigeria, 1980 to 1988

In Nigeria, during the four years of the Second Republic, we seem to have adopted an amalgam of the American and the British Systems. Even though we operated a presidential system of government, we

had Permanent Secretaries whose positions were in fact recognized by the Constitution. Indeed, the Constitution described them as Chief Executives in the Ministries or Departments in addition to
other departmental heads in a ministry. The fusion led to some degree of uncertainty, as to what the relative roles were between the Minister/ Commissioner and his Permanent Secretary and this in turn led to conflicts in the departments.

Self – Assessment Exercise 3.6

Examine the Nigerian civil service from 1980 to 1988

3.7 Civil Service Reforms under Obasanjo 1999 to 2007

Obansanjo’s reforms centered on the following aspects:

1.  Anti – Corruption, Transparency and Accountability: Corruption remained an intractable problem that constrained development efforts in Nigeria. On assumption of office, Chief Olusegun Obansanjo, observed that the time – tested approach in conducting government business had degenerated to such an extent that the Public Service were abandoned either due to sheer ignorance or for selfish reasons (Ekpenkhio, 2003). The President emphasized that transparency in Government Procedures was necessary to usher in a great and dynamic economy to ensure a just and egalitarian society. The reform programme focuses on specific measures to curb corruption, improve transparency, and accountability in the conduct of government business. 
2. Monetization of Fringe Benefits: As part of its efforts to reduce the cost of governance and ensure efficiency in resource allocation, the Federal government decided to monetize the fringe benefits of public servants. The fringe benefits to be monetized where residential accommodation, furniture allowance, utility allowance, domestic servant allowance, motor vehicle loan, medical allowance and entertainment allowance.
3. The Pension Reform Act 2004: The Pension Reform Act came into existence in 2004 the main objectives of the Act were to: 

a) Ensure that every pensioner who worked in either the Public Service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory and the Private Sector receives his retirement benefits as and when due;
b) Assists improvident individuals by ensuring that they save in order to cater for their livelihood during old age and;
c) Establish a uniform set of rules/regulations and standards to the administration and payments of retirement benefits for the public service of the federation, Federal Capital Territory and the Private Sector (Ezeani, 2005)

Self – Assessment Exercise 3.7

Examine Civil Service Reform under Obasanjo1999 - 2007

4.0 CONCLUSION

We have discussed civil service in Nigeria. We explained how civil service is a veritable factor for the development of the country. The civil service has witnessed various reforms from the Colonial/First Republic to the reforms during Obasanjo’s civil rule, the essence has been to reposition and equip the civil service for efficient service delivery.

5.0 SUMMARY

We have in this unit treated definition of public administration, functions of Civil Service, principles of civil service, the control of civil service, the colonial/First Republic Civil Service in Nigeria,

New Civil Service in Nigeria and Civil Service in Nigeria, 1980 to 1988.

6.0 TUTOR –MARKED ASSIGNMENTS

1.  What is civil service? 
2. List the principles of civil service 
3. Describe the New Civil Service in Nigeria, 1980 to 1988