By Ebi Kesiena
The Nigerian Government has commenced a comprehensive personnel audit and skills gap analysis of the nation’s civil service, in what officials describe as a decisive step toward building a future-ready workforce.
The exercise formally kicked off on Thursday with a three-day strategic retreat in Abuja, bringing together policymakers, consultants, and implementation teams to harmonise the methodology for the audit.
Declaring the retreat open, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, said the project, ordered by President Bola Tinubu, would produce a credible and verifiable personnel database. Beyond tracking the number of staff in the system, the audit will capture skills, competencies, and workforce distribution across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
“This project will give us what we have long needed: a database that supports evidence-based planning, targeted training, strategic deployment, and transparent succession planning,” Walson-Jack explained. She described the initiative as a “critical step” in ongoing reforms aimed at repositioning the civil service for greater efficiency, professionalism, and service delivery.
According to her, the exercise is anchored on the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2021–2025, which seeks to modernise the service and ensure decisions on recruitment, promotions, postings, and training are based on accurate data.
Chairman of Philips Consulting, Folusho Philips, whose firm is leading the audit, said the project would help ensure civil servants are “fit for purpose” in a rapidly changing governance environment. By identifying skill gaps and strengths, he noted, the government will be better equipped to deploy the right people to the right roles.
“We want to know the kinds of jobs we need to fill, the people required, and how to bridge capacity gaps,” Philips said, adding that the model could eventually be replicated at state level to strengthen service delivery nationwide.
Also speaking, Permanent Secretary of the Common Services Office, Dr. Danjuma Kalba, underscored the need to harmonise the work of the 15 cluster consultants engaged in the project. Without alignment, he warned, varying methodologies could undermine the credibility of the results.
The retreat, themed “Building a Future-Ready Workforce: Reshaping Skills Today for Tomorrow’s Nigeria,” is being attended by members of the steering committee, the implementation team, Philips Consulting, and cluster consultants.
