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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The role and status of the civil service in the Third Republic |
Author: | Balogun, M. Jide |
Year: | 1989 |
Periodical: | Quarterly Journal of Administration |
Volume: | 24 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 243-258 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | constitutional reform civil service |
Abstract: | This paper on the role and status of the civil service in Nigeria's Third Republic begins with an examination of the changes in this role and status from independence onwards. Until the earth-shaking changes introduced in 1988, the role of the service remained pretty much the same over the years. An examination of the situation during the period before 1963 pays attention to the efforts to transform the bureaucracy from a colonial tool to an agent of development, and the regrouping of the formerly autonomous departments into ministries. The 1963 Constitution accorded formal recognition to the politically neutral civil service. With the overthrow of the civilian regime in January 1966, the civil service became part of a regime sworn to correcting the ills of the past. By 1975 the civil service was a prime target of another corrective regime. The massive purge of the public service was one of the government's responses to the lethargy and pervasive corruption within the ranks of public officials. The deteriorating socioeconomic situation in the country was a major threat to the peace and quiet which the civil service then needed. The next section focuses on the reform measures introduced in 1988 as a prelude to the changes incorporated within the 1989 Constitution. In the last section, the challenges of economic recovery and self-sustained growth, and the role of government leaders and civil servants in meeting this challenge are examined. Ref. |