Federal Civil Service partners Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation for digitalisation

The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) has signed an agreement with the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation to formally mark their collaboration to digitalise the work of the OHCSF, with the implementation of an Enterprise Content Management Solution (ECMS). The  ECMS solution will create efficiency and effectiveness in the OHCSF and ensure the integrity of processes and their outcomes, as well as reposition the federal civil service for better performance and improved quality of service.

The signing ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, October 26^th during the Nigerian Economic Summit, was witnessed by His Excellency the Vice President of the Federation Yemi Osinbajo, with Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation signing on behalf of OHCSF and Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, signing for the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation. Present at the ceremony were the Executive Vice-Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Mrs Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, as well as several Federal Permanent Secretaries.

The partnership between the OHCSF and the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG), a subsidiary of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, dates back to 2017 when the two entities signed a Memorandum of Understanding. AIG engaged the services of Mckinsey & Co to develop the Federal Civil Service Strategy & Implementation Plan 2017-2020 (FCSSIP20) and since that time, the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and its subsidiary entities have been working with the OHCSF, supporting the implementation of some of the key priority areas outlined in FCSSIP20. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need for the civil service to digitalise, and the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has been working with the OHCSF, providing necessary consulting support, resources and funding for the digitalisation project.

The digitalisation project has been implemented in stages with the first stage being the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which have since been completed by the OHCSF and are currently undergoing adoption by all the Federal Government of Nigeria Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The second stage was the Organisational Readiness Assessment which assessed the OHCSF’s state of readiness to adopt the ECMS and measure future outcomes of the project implementation. Additionally, the OHCSF is preparing for ISO 9001-2015 (Quality Management System) certification, which will provide direction for establishing an effective and responsive compliance management system within the OHCSF, enhancing organisational readiness for the ECMS. A Joint Evaluation Panel set up by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and the OHCSF identified a suitable  ECMS vendor and the project is now at the final stages of implementation.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation said, “Our mission at the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation is driving improved public service delivery and we are committed to supporting the efforts of the public sector to increase its effectiveness so that it can deliver on its mandate to the Nigerian people. As we approach the final stage of the digitalisation project,  I am confident that this will mark the beginning of a new era of increased efficiency in the Federal Civil Service.”

Dr Folasade Yemi- Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation said, “We are committed to improving public service delivery and efficiency to ensure that the people of Nigeria have a seamless experience of federal services. The digitalisation of our work processes will enable us to be more effective and I commend the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation for partnering with us to achieve this. It is a true testament to the role that public-private sector collaboration can play in national development and  I hope that this partnership will inspire other entities in the public and private sectors to collaborate to build a better Nigeria.