The Bureau of Public Service Reforms, BPSR, has said Nigeria can become one of the leading economies by 2025.
Arabi Ibrahim Dasuki, the Director-General of BPSR, said with the use of Public Financial Management Reforms, Nigeria can become one of the world-leading economies by 2025.
Dasuki called for an improvement in Nigeria’s public service operations.
He spoke during a capacity-building programme on the role of media in deepening the Fiscal Transparency measures in Nigeria, organized by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch in Abuja on Thursday.
The BPSR DG also noted that technology had been deployed to tackle corruption and track government resources.
According to Dasuki: “The digitization process that the government is putting in place is opening space for us and making government executive and public servants almost irrelevant. If you entered into your IPPIS, you don’t need your Perm Sec or your Minister. Somebody sits down and captures your data as long as your documents are alright, so those administrative bottlenecks are being destroyed by technology.
“As the Bureau of Civil Service Reforms is responsible for driving change, we have developed a system called National Strategy on Public Service, and it has four pillars. Specifically, pillar three looks at Public Financial Management Reforms. What we intend to achieve by producing this document is to improve the timing of the Nigerian Public service so that we get to be among the top leading economies in the world by 2025.
“Yet, somebody will ask, is this possible? Yes, we are almost there. We have Nigerian Public Service agencies that have become centres of excellence worldwide. Security and Exchange Commission, Federal Inland Revenue, NHIS, and many other government agencies have reached that level.
“The journey has just started, and technology has helped us to tackle corruption and track the resources of government, and it has helped us to open up the banking process of this country. Corruption is not only being tackled but it’s being prevented in the country.
“We will continue to support government initiatives around public service reforms, and we are hoping that if all of these are implemented, the civil service in Nigeria will be one of the best in Africa and the world.
On missing monies reported by the media, he said: “We are taking a lot of steps; just bear with us and be patient because most cases end up in courts. And you know it’s not something that happens over time.”