Responsibilities of the office
Civil-service standards
Leads service-wide policies on professional conduct, administrative practice and the implementation of government programmes.
Workforce organisation
Oversees work on staffing structures, workforce planning and conditions of service through the relevant departments.
Performance and training
Coordinates frameworks for employee performance, skills development and improvements in service delivery.
Administrative reform
Directs civil-service transformation, including records management and better working processes.
Limits of the office
Works within the Constitution and public-service rules. The Federal Civil Service Commission has its own responsibilities; the Head of Service does not replace ministers, elected legislators or the courts.
About Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan
Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan heads Nigeria’s federal civil service. His appointment took effect on 27 August 2026, succeeding Didi Esther Walson-Jack.
Early life and education
Born on 12 December 1966, Enitan is from Osun State. He studied Finance and Banking at the University of Lagos, graduating in 1988, and later obtained a master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from Nasarawa State University in 2015.
Banking and entry into public service
His career began as an accountant at the Staff Development Centre in Ibadan in 1989. He subsequently worked at Commerce Bank before joining the federal service in 1998 through the Family Economic Advancement Programme. His later assignments included the National Poverty Eradication Programme and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
The Presidency and permanent-secretary roles
Enitan moved to the Office of the Vice President in 2010 and became a director in 2017. Appointed permanent secretary in December 2018, he served across several institutions, including the Federal Civil Service Commission and ministries responsible for environment, aviation, police affairs and humanitarian affairs. His immediate previous posting was the Federal Ministry of Education.
Current office
The appointment statement tasked him with improving professionalism, accountability and the quality of public administration. The office concerns the machinery and personnel of government: how civil servants are organised, trained and supported to implement policy. It is separate from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
