By Williams Danjuma, Gombe
Professor Matthew Bello, head of Department of Public Administration, Gombe State University (GSU), has appraised the critical roles of civil servants in strengthening democracy in Nigeria through the implementation of Government policies and programmes.
The university Don has therefore called for urgent repositioning of Nigeria’s public service to ensure that political promises are translated into tangible development after the 2027 general elections.
Professor Matthew made the call Tuesday afternoon during the Second International Conference of the Department of Public Administration, GSU, with the theme, “Democracy, Public Service and Service Delivery in Nigeria: Setting the Agenda for the 2027 General Elections.”
He maintained that civil servants should remain central to implementing Government policies regardless of changes in political leadership.
He explained that the conference brought together academics, politicians, public servants and other stakeholders to examine challenges facing public administration and develop practical solutions to improve governance.
He said, “Our objective is to brainstorm on how the public service can be repositioned to effectively fulfil its critical responsibility of implementing policies and delivering services that touch the lives of citizens”.
Professor Lawal Abdullahi Oladimeji, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee stressed that elections and democracy should not be viewed as ends in themselves but as means of improving citizens’ welfare.
He therefore questioned how effective the public service had translated successive Governments’ campaign promises into better living conditions for Nigerians.
According to him, many issues dominating electoral campaigns today had featured prominently in elections over the past two decades, urging politicians and civil servants to examine why promises had not produced corresponding results.
“The conference is expected to sensitise stakeholders on the need to do things differently after the 2027 elections”, Professor Oladimeji pointed out.
Delivering a keynote address, the Head of the Gombe State Civil Service, Professor Mu’azu Shehu, said the State had institutionalised evidence-based governance through the use of data, research and citizens’ feedback in policy formulation, a process which began at the commencement of the Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya administration in 2019.
According to him, “Governor Yahaya’s 2019 manifesto, contained 110 promises with measurable indicators, followed by a needs assessment covering more than 400 communities across 114 wards”.
He revealed that the findings informed the Development Agenda for Gombe State (DEVAGOM), introduced in 2021 to align Government’s programmes with citizens’ identified needs.
Professor Shehu said regular public opinion surveys and civil service reforms, including manpower audits, skills-gap analysis and digitisation, had further strengthened evidence-based policymaking.
“Policy should not end when Governments change,” he added, stressing the need to institutionalise successful policies.
In his remarks, the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Babangida, pointed out that democracy can not be sustained through elections alone as it also depends on equitable, transparent and responsive service delivery.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ahmed Sani Yauta, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Rasheed Abdulganiyu, urged Government officials to participate more actively in such conferences.
He pointed out that recommendations from academics should reach policymakers and be translated into concrete policies and actions.
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