By Jumoke Olaitan

‎The Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) says it is planning to establish a digital leadership and research centre to strengthen governance, enhance public service delivery and equip public servants with relevant skills.

The Director-General of the bureau, Dr Dasuki Arabi, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the presentation of the 2026 Governance and Leadership Excellence Award to him by the Nigeria Leadership Excellence Award (NLEA).

‎Arabi said the proposed centre would provide opportunities for public servants to undertake short courses and training in leadership, governance, technology and public service reforms.

‎He explained that the initiative was aimed at building on the bureau’s achievements in more than 20 years of promoting reforms in the public service.

‎”We are looking at establishing a digital online leadership and research centre to focus on governance, public service improvement and public service reforms.

‎”Just the way Course is doing, public servants will be able to attend one or two training sessions lasting two or three hours to add value to the work they do,” he said.

‎On the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, Arabi said although some jobs might be lost, new opportunities would emerge for workers with the necessary digital skills.

‎He stressed that public servants must acquire information technology and AI skills to remain relevant in the changing work environment.

‎”Jobs will be lost, but new opportunities will come up. Those opportunities will only be open to people who know how to use technology.

‎”If you are a public servant with IT and AI skills, you will be able to use AI prompts and agents to help you do your work and improve your performance,” he said.

‎Arabi said the bureau would work with other government agencies to support the transition from paper-based operations to digital and paperless systems.

‎He, however, said the transition should not result in unnecessary job losses but should create opportunities for workers to take on new responsibilities.

‎”Our efforts will be towards ensuring that those jobs are not lost and that people are able to move from being secretaries to data officers, and from clerks to data officers.

‎”They will be managing data, connectivity and information, and working alongside robots and machines as we deepen the use of IT and AI in public service delivery,” he said.

‎He described the award as recognition of the collective efforts of the bureau and the wider Federal Public Service rather than a personal achievement.

‎He expressed appreciation to the organisers for recognising the bureau’s contributions to improving public administration and service delivery.

‎”I initially wondered who the organisers were because I had never met them. But after discussing with my team, we agreed that this is not an award for me alone. It is an award for the bureau and the team that has been working with me.

‎”This is an award for the entire Federal Public Service because officials from different ministries, departments and agencies work with us to achieve these reforms,” he said.

‎He noted that public service reforms were often challenging because they required workers and institutions to move away from familiar practices and embrace changes that placed citizens at the centre of governance.

‎Earlier, the Executive Coordinator of NLEA, Mr Cletus Akhimien, said the organisation decided to honour the BPSR director-general after reviewing the bureau’s activities and contributions to public sector development.

‎Akhimien said the organisers were impressed by the bureau’s achievements, adding that their assessment went beyond the information initially presented during the nomination process.

‎”When the nomination came, I asked myself whether this agency really existed. We had to carry out a background check to know who the D-G was and what the agency had achieved to deserve the award.

‎”What we discovered was mind-blowing, and coming here today to hear more about what the bureau has done and what it intends to do has been very encouraging,” he said.

‎He expressed the organisation’s interest in establishing a stronger partnership with the bureau to take its reform activities and messages to the grassroots.

‎He said the award was designed to recognise integrity, innovation and excellence in leadership, adding that the bureau demonstrated these values through its work.(NAN) www.nannews.ng

Edited by Deji Abdulwahab