WORK CONTENT IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL SERVICE AND ITS IMPLICATION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Civil service is the major instrument through which government; federal, state or local manage development. However, Nigerian civil service has for long been engulfed with poor service delivery. Reforms in the civil service have often centered on structure and deemphasized work content. Specifically, attention is paid to the powers of officials, inter-unit conflict, and delegation of authority, training and accountability. Regardless of emphasis on these factors, work in the civil service remains dull, slow, and monotonous, and a high degree of employee idleness is nothing to write home about. Within the framework of labour productivity theory and using primary data collected from highly-skilled professionals in three states of South-East Nigeria. The paper concludes that the conspicuous lack of activity among many civil service employees’ is primarily a function of low work content in service occasioned by overstaffing. To achieve sustainable development in Nigeria, job enrichment and decongestion of the civil service by alternative employment (DAE) is therefore recommended.