Gambiaj.com – (ABUJA, Nigeria) – The Government of The Gambia is seeking to adopt aspects of Nigeria’s civil service reform agenda as part of efforts to strengthen governance and improve public service delivery, the Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service, Alieu Njie, has said.
Mr. Njie made the remarks during a strategic study visit by a Gambian civil service delegation to Abuja, Nigeria, where officials are examining Nigeria’s experiences in public sector transformation, institutional development, and reform implementation.
The visit, which runs from June 20 to June 24, is aimed at enabling Gambian officials to learn from Nigeria’s civil service reforms and deepen cooperation between the two countries through knowledge exchange and peer learning.
Speaking during a visit to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Njie described Nigeria as a model for other African countries and said The Gambia was keen to replicate some of the initiatives that have contributed to improvements in the Nigerian public service.
Among the reforms that impressed him was Nigeria’s civil service anthem, which he said helps instill professionalism, commitment, and a sense of duty among public servants.
“Your civil service anthem is something that has moved me. It is something that any civil servant, if you listen to it every morning and sing the song every morning, knows how important it is,” Njie said.
“Obviously, it leads you in a direction. That alone is something I can confidently tell you will be part of my reforms.”
Strong Historical Ties
Njie described Nigeria as a “big brother” to The Gambia and Africa as a whole, citing the long-standing relationship between the two countries in sectors such as education, defense, health, and the judiciary.
According to him, roughly 70 percent of Gambian civil servants received their university education in Nigeria, while Nigerian professionals have continued to play important roles in the development of key sectors in The Gambia.
He also highlighted recent institutional changes within the Gambian government, noting that the merger of the Office of the Secretary to the Cabinet and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service had improved coordination between policy formulation and implementation.
“Being part of the cabinet where policies are formulated and also handling implementation makes my work easier,” he said, adding that the arrangement allows for closer monitoring of cabinet decisions and their execution.
Njie said The Gambia has already undertaken reforms in areas including pensions, policy management, human resource development, and public service restructuring but is now concentrating on implementation, sustainability, and change management.
“Our aim is to identify concrete measures that The Gambia can adopt to accelerate civil service transformation, and there is nowhere we can get them better than Nigeria,” he said.
The Gambian delegation is particularly interested in studying Nigeria’s digital personnel and payroll management systems, performance management frameworks, staff welfare initiatives, mentoring programs, and mechanisms for sustaining reforms.
“We will return to The Gambia ready to translate lessons from this visit into concrete actions that will improve governance and service delivery for our citizens,” he added.
Nigeria Offers Continued Support
Responding, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, said Nigeria was prepared to share its experiences with The Gambia while also learning from Gambian public service practices.
Walson-Jack noted that Nigeria had previously operated a similar arrangement in which the positions of Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the civil service were merged and said the country had recently completed implementation of its Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2021–2025, which was extended into the first quarter of 2026.
She revealed that Nigeria is now preparing a new reform framework covering the period 2026–2030 and pledged to share lessons learned from the previous strategy with Gambian officials.
The Nigerian civil service chief also expressed optimism that cooperation between the two countries could eventually be formalized through a memorandum of understanding.
“We are looking forward to structuring it in such a way that we could actually have an MoU because if our relationships in other sectors have been successful, I do not see why the one concerning the civil service should not be successful,” she said.
Meanwhile, the administrator of the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, Imeh Okon, described the visit as an important milestone in bilateral cooperation and strategic knowledge sharing.
Okon said the institute remained committed to strengthening public sector capacity through training, research, and innovation, adding that the study tour would serve as a platform for both countries to exchange ideas on governance, institutional development, and public service reforms.
“This study tour is not a one-way presentation, but rather a robust bilateral dialogue. We are eager to learn from your unique experiences in governance and institutional development in The Gambia, just as we share our own,” she said.
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