The 12th forum of South West Heads of Service (HoS) was initially scheduled to hold in the last week of March 2020. A week to the planned date, lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic were imposed. As a result, the Community of Practice (CoP) gathering was postponed. Adapting to the new norm, the Heads of Service met virtually on 5th August 2020, to continue sharing lessons on innovative governance practices. The forum was attended by Heads of Service from Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo and Ondo States. Additionally, Permanent Secretaries (PSs) and Directors in the Office of the Head of Service from these five states were in attendance: PSs from the Ogun State Public Service Transformation Office, Ministry of Establishment in Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos States and the Director-General Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation in Lagos. Others in attendance included the Director-General, Mr Seye Oyeleye and staff of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission as well as staff of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL).

The session provided the opportunity to update the newly appointed HoS in Ogun and the now substantive HoS in Ekiti, on the journey of the PERL programme in bringing the demand and supply sides of governance together for improved service delivery. Updates included support to the Health and Education sectors, domestic resource mobilisation including agriculture and Ease-of-Doing-Business, Public Finance Management (PFM) and institutional strengthening including working with communities of practices, across the region.

The Heads of Service shared lessons and experiences on managing civil service in their states while remaining compliant to regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Ekiti State HoS, Mrs Olapeju Babafemi, shared steps taken by her state to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV) particularly as it has increased during the lockdown period. The HoS of Lagos State, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola shared experiences on the state response in tackling COVID-19, considering that Lagos is the epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria. From Ogun State, the HoS, Alhaja Olapeju Ottun, presented the state’s strategy to prevent and monitor sexual harassment in the workplace as offices reopen after the lockdown. Mr Dare Aragbaiye and Mrs Ololade Agboola, the Heads of Service, of Ondo and Oyo states, relayed lessons on how their states are adjusting to new realities without significantly disrupting workflow and performance within the public service.

Lessons

The Heads of Service shared various lessons on diverse themes during the CoP meeting.

Managing COVID-19 and its Consequent Burdens

1.       Lagos had equipped its infectious disease hospitals although the facilities were not maximally utilised before COVID-19. When the pandemic escalated, the centres were reactivated, with the Governor acting as the Chief Incidence Commander, receiving timely updates from mandated health officials. To convey suspected COVID-19 patients to isolation centres, the state procured ambulances. All South West (SW) states have isolation centres, having converted existing facilities for that purpose.

2.      Lagos State strategically split the cabinet into three categories: the general cabinet, comprising of all members; a 17-member cabinet, comprising of the Governor and Deputy, Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service and Commissioners; and a war-room cabinet comprising of 7 members who met several times weekly to strategise on new ways of responding to the pandemic.

3.      In Lagos, all visits to government agencies and facilities were suspended and online engagements encouraged through ‘Telemed’, virtual meetings, etc.

4.      Doctors in the six states receive hazard allowances at varied figures, while frontline responders to COVID-19 cases in Ogun State receive extra allowances based on duty stations. These allowances signal government commitment to motivate health workers confronting the dangers of the pandemic. However, in Ekiti State, doctors are on strike as of August 2020, clamouring for Grade Level (GL) 13 as the starting point for doctors recruited into civil service.

5.      In all SW States, only officers from GL 14 and above (GL 13 in Oyo State) come to the office. Other officers are called upon to assist in the office only when necessary. Officers are encouraged to observe laid down procedures against the pandemic including use of masks, observing sanitation procedures and physical distancing. Virtual meetings are optimally encouraged.

6.      The general environment of the State Secretariat in Ondo, Oyo and Lagos are continually being decontaminated and new water points have been installed. The Civil Service in Ondo State has not been adversely affected by the pandemic as officers were able to adapt and adjust in order to deliver services to the public. Similarly, in Oyo State, the pandemic did not paralyse the civil service and the economy.

7.      Oyo State distributed face masks and hand sanitizers to all civil and public servants and put in place hand washing facilities in all MDAs. There is no evidence, so far, that resumption of duty and opening of offices has contributed to an increase of COVID-19 cases in Oyo State.

8.      Payment of staff salaries in Oyo State has remained regular throughout the lockdown period and beyond.

Gender-Based Violence, Domestic Violence, Sexual Harassment and Therapy

9.      Reports on gender-based and domestic violence increased during the lockdown period. Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo and Lagos States have systems in place including laws, policies, committees, response teams and centres for rehabilitation, psychotherapy and wellness, etc., either as preventive or reactive measures. In Lagos, the response team is inter-ministerial and enjoys expediency from the judiciary thus, cases raised by the team are given priority, including during the pandemic. The committee in Ogun State was set up in June 2020 after the PERL-supported survey on Workplace Sexual Harassment in March 2020.

10.  There is a conscious effort, through a policy, to reverse the language of GBV, from blaming the victim to finding fault with the harasser.

11.    The anti-GBV law in Ekiti encourages practitioners of female circumcision to surrender tools in exchange for seed capital to start viable businesses. About 120 women responded and have since opened up various forms of smallholder businesses to sustain their families.

12.   Oyo State has issued a circular warning against sexual harassment within the service. However, no cases have been reported and until victims speak up, there are no cases to deal with in Oyo State.

Education, Professional Development and Promotions

13.   All state-owned tertiary institutions in Lagos are currently in session, through online learning platforms. As of August 2020, Lagos is the only state where this is happening. The online learning system is domiciled in the Ministry of Education and managed by the various tertiary institutions.

14.   An online learning management system has been developed by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishment, Training and Pensions, and is available for officers from GL 1 to GL 18. As of April 2020, 11,124 civil and public servants were engaging with the virtual learning platform, domiciled at and managed by the Ministry.

15.   Activities towards promotion exercise for civil and public servants are ongoing across the SW. Different states are at different stages of the exercise using virtual platforms. Lagos State has concluded the 2020 exercise.

16.   Oyo State resumed schools for terminal classes in July 2020, through collaboration and agreement between government and Parent Teacher Association. Ondo, Lagos, Ekiti, Osun and Ogun resumed in August 2020. In Oyo State, the Ministry of Education provided face masks to learners and teachers. There is no evidence, so far, that resumption of schools has contributed to increased cases of COVID-19 in Oyo State.

Other Lessons

17.   The virtual Executive Council meetings in Lagos State are now time-bound (10am – 4pm) compared to physical meetings that lingered on for longer than necessary.

18.  Professionals who are appointed by the Governor for other public service duties lose job-specific allowances and assume other allowances in accordance to the new role (in line with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) guide). For example, when a medical doctor is appointed as Permanent Secretary, the appointee must forfeit allowances related to hospital duties and assume remunerations related to the new appointment.

19.   On positions within the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), roles in that commission are particularly for accountants, statisticians and management experts. Teachers who specialise exclusively in education do not necessarily have a place in TESCOM as those appointed to the Agency struggle to bring in the needed expertise. This should be discouraged across the South West.

Challenge

Civil servants in the states face challenges of epileptic internet connections. Staff who are not necessarily tech-savvy also struggle with online meetings.