Walson-Jack while featuring on Channels TV monitored by Persecondnews on Monday evening said the administration was implementing reforms aimed at improving productivity, rewarding excellence and restoring confidence in the civil service.
“We are trying to make sure that the civil servant’s career is modelled and helped through programmes that will deal with all the issues to ensure that we have a workforce that is accountable, efficient, citizen centred,” she said.
Walson-Jack stressed that promotion and appointments were increasingly being driven by merit, competence and performance rather than favoritism.
On recruitment into the federal civil service, Walson-Jack said job opportunities advertised by the Federal Civil Service Commission were open to qualified Nigerians regardless of background or connections.
“It is possible for someone from a humble background to apply and get a federal civil service job without knowing anybody.”
She urged applicants awaiting feedback from recruitment exercises to remain patient due to the large volume of applications being processed.
The HoS also highlighted recent welfare reforms introduced for civil servants, including increases in some allowances and implementation of the Employee Compensation Scheme and Exit Benefit Scheme.
She explained that the Exit Benefit Scheme would allow civil servants to receive 100 per cent of their total annual emoluments upon retirement.
She also added that the policy would take retrospective effect from January 1, 2026 despite commencing officially later in the year.
“The Exit Benefit Scheme will take retroactive effect from January 1, 2026, meaning civil servants will benefit from it from the beginning of the year.” she noted.
Walson-Jack emphasized that workers injured, disabled or affected by workplace related diseases while in service would also receive compensation under the Employee Compensation Scheme, while families of deceased civil servants would benefit as well.
According to her, many of the welfare policies had existed in law for years but were only now being fully implemented by the current administration.
“The Employee Compensation Act has been in the law books since 2010, while the Exit Benefit Scheme is under the Pension Act 2004. It is this administration that has come to implement those schemes,” she noted.
She further disclosed that government was exploring additional welfare support measures for workers, including housing initiatives, revealing that civil servants recently secured N10 billion in housing loans.
The HoS also acknowledged growing concerns over rising living costs and pressure surrounding the national minimum wage, noting that government was considering broader welfare interventions beyond salaries as part of efforts to improve workers’ wellbeing.
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