Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF)  Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, said on Thursday in Abuja that the level of development of any nation was a reflection of the performance or non-performance of its public service.

Afolabi made the remark at a sensitisation forum on “The National Strategy for Public Service Reforms (NSPSR) for States’ Heads of Service organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms.

“ You are aware; government has made and continues to make policy decisions to improve governance at all levels.

“However, the success of these measures will depend essentially on the public service as government cannot achieve its developmental objectives without a high performing public service.

“It is a truism that societies will fail if their governments are ineffective, just as governments are prone to failure if their public service is ineffective.

“It is, therefore, our duty to take all such measures that are necessary to make our public service an important contributor in the political, economic and social advancement of our nation.’’

Afolabi said that it was in recognition of this fact that his office took steps to ensure that only cost-effective reform programmes were initiated and implemented in its drive to transform the Nigerian public service.

He explained that it was in that regard that the office of the HOCSF partnered with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) in 2008 to develop the NSPSR.

“The NSPSR provides a common vision and long-term agenda to guide the re-building and transformation of the Nigerian public service into a world class standard by the year 2020.

“The strategy document framework is derived from the Vision-20:2020, the NEEDS-2 document and the seven-point agenda of government.

“Today’s forum is primarily aimed at acquainting the states’ Heads of Service on the contents of the NSPSR,’’ he added.

Earlier, Mr Dauda Kigbu, Permanent Secretary of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, said that it was important for top government functionaries at the federal and state levels to meet and exchange ideas.

He added that it was also important to share experiences on partnership and collaborations, which were needed for sustainable development.

Kigbu said that the forum would create a common platform for the effective discussion of the essential elements of the strategy document, particularly its strategic priorities.

“We expect that at the end of the forum, there will be a common understanding of the philosophy, significance and rationale behind the NSPSR.

Our source reports that participants from more than 25 states of the federation are attending the workshop.

He said that in a short while, the result will be obvious  with respect to extortion from motorists, because the command will soon descend heavily on those officers that man the roads.

The commissioner described the PCRS as a veritable body for police and community partnership towards solving problems relating to safety of the community, adding that security is every body’s problem, and that there is a lot of benefits for partnering with the community for effective information and proper policing.

Earlier in his speech, the chairman of the PCRC Rivers State, Austin E. Young, said one major problem his administration has discovered and is tackling in the last one year of coming on board was the issue of distrust among officers and PCRC members, but noted that the police alone can not do the work effectively with out partnership with the community.

The Chairman also said that the Month of March 2011 will be declared or campaign for free, fair and violent-free election, and urged leaders to ensure safety in their communities.