Civil service reform essential for sustainable dev’t in Abia – Otti’s aide

The Special Assistant to Gov. Alex Otti on Due Process, Dr Oluebube Chukwu, has said that civil service reform will promote sustainable development in Abia. Chukwu said this at a news briefing at the Government House, Umuahia on Thursday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Otti on Tuesday inaugurated a nine-member Abia State Civil Service Reform Committee “to identify and review the anomalies in the service”. He said that reforming the civil service would help to promote transparency, due process, accountability and professionalism in the sector. Chukwu said that the reform programme of the present administration in the state would play a vital role in achieving government’s rebuilding agenda. He said that a functional civil service plays significant role in powering government’s activities to produce progressive results for enhanced socioeconomic development. “The civil service as we all know plays a pivotal role as the fundamental instrument for implementing the government’s policies and objectives. “Hence, a reformed civil service will contribute to the creation of a new Abia that caters to the needs of its populace,” Chukwu said. According to him, the assemblage of experienced professionals in the committee underscores the seriousness with which the mandate to remodel the civil service is being pursued by the state government. He said that the present administration promised to promote commitment among the personnel in all areas of government, hence the resolve to reform the civil service. Chukwu said that the state civil service needed to be reformed to encourage civil servants to become more effective and aware of their responsibilities in the operations of the government. Chukwu said that taking deliberate steps in evolving and implementing strategies that would enhance the efficiency of Abia workers in service delivery was vital in the state transformation process. He urged the committee to adopt the principles of excellence, objectivity, transparency, accountability, fairness and equity in the discharge of its assignment. “These principles are essential for identifying and rectifying the anomalies in the service,” the governor’s aide said.