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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Governor Alex Otti may in a way be likened to America’s Abraham Lincoln – a man synonymous with election contests. Like the one time US president who contested elections severally before becoming president, Otti on his part contested elections three good times before becoming the Governor of Abia.
During the electioneering in 2023, Otti promised a New Abia if he wins the election. Realising the civil service as the engine room of sustainable growth and change in governance, Otti was not bereft of the idea that rejigging and retooling the Abia State workforce through the Civil Service Commission, remains the fulcrum for his much taunted New Abia dream.
When Otti eventually won the election and was sworn in as Governor on May 29, 2023, he remembered vividly he made a promise to his people to turn around the state for good and to the direction of the civil servants, he looked to actualise his dream.
Realising equally that for the state to have a core of highly professional, competent, disciplined, accountable and productive civil servants, dedicated to efficient and effective service delivery that will push up his dream of a new Abia, he must have to put at the helm of affairs of the Civil Service Commission, a tested and competent hand to drive the dream.
Shopping for the person that fits into Governor Otti’s core desire, someone with overarching vision for transforming the Civil Service in
Abia State was not easy. After much search, the Governor settled for Pastor Dr. Eno Jerry Eze, an international human resource expert and an authority in human management.
With a PhD in Human Resource Management, a Master’s in International Human Resource Management, and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management, Eno Eze, with a career spanning the private and public sectors—including banking, oil and gas, and business consulting, set out to achieve Otti’s dream of having the glory of the civil service restored, where the best of the best can be found in both professional and non-professional cadres of the service.
Like in any other sector of the state, as Governor himself will always say, Dr. Eze met the civil service Commission at ground zero, having every of its appendages in comatose with the corresponding workers’ morale terminally brought to all time low.
Armed with the vibrant vision of Governor Otti, this human resource Czar set out to restore the quality of public service through a professional, skilled, merit-driven system fully equipped to support the emerging New Abia template.
As a Human Resource professional who is passionate about transitioning to efficient HR processes and policies that will be managed through electronic platforms, Dr. Eze began by putting up measures that cut down inefficiency and bureaucracy by over 70 percent and the state is better for it.
Under the guidance of this human resource guru, Otti has within the two and half years of his administration come to terms with his election promise of reinviting Abia workforce from its hitherto abysmal state to its present 21st century compliant government outfit.
Dr. Eze gave more insights on why Governor Otti’s administration is so obsessed with reforming the civil service.
She said “The Civil Service is the engine room of any functional state. If it breaks down, governance collapses and that was why the governor made it a campaign issue in 2023 and we will stop at nothing in making him fulfill that promise to the people of Abia State.”
Going further she said, “Our focus is to rebuild that engine professionally, ethically, and systematically so it can deliver the governor’s vision for a modern, efficient and citizen-centred Abia”.
With a mission boldly mapped out which is to create excellence in service delivery in Abia through a qualitative civil service system, rooted in merit and professionalism, and underpinned by technology and innovation, the Civil Service Commission has taken the bull by the horns when it comes to work environment and condition of service.
Eze put it this way, “At the core of organisational success is Human Resource – we are positioning to attract and retain the best talents towards improved service delivery.”
This, she said is contained in the recently intropduced skills mapping process which has reinforced the urgency of transitioning into human resource management (policies and framework) and an HRMIS.
“The HRMIS will contain and maintain electronically the complete employment
lifecycle of every civil servant from recruitment to retirement.”
These reforms no doubt have started yielding positive results that have far outweighed the expectations of even the actors themselves.
For instance, recently, Abia State was ranked the most prepared state in Nigeria for health emergencies, according to the 2025 SBM Health Preparedness Index report. The state scored 26.85, being the highest in the country.
Elated Dr. Eze has this to say about the feat, “This achievement reflects our deliberate investment in human health capital, robust budgetary allocations (14.8% of the state budget), and strong governance systems. It underscores the effectiveness of our
recruitment and capacity-building efforts and the state’s readiness to respond effectively to health crises.”
She said, “This is important because the government delivers on health, education, water, and other social sector services through the civil service. The civil service also regulates the climate that supports or restrains private sector investments.”
The reforms are not done in isolation, relegating the workers welfare, as backlog of promotions for 2022, 2023, and 2024 have been cleared while the process for 2025 is ongoing according to insider sources.
Presently, the Commission has recruited about 771 health workers which process was said to have been managed in line with global HR standards.
For those who believe Otti is far from delivering on one of his election promises and that the state’s ranking as the most prepared state in Nigeria for health emergencies was a fluke, they should wait to hear this: Abia State was giving the right to host the 44th Annual National Council of the Civil Service Commissions of the Federation.
For Eze, the hosting right was not allotted to Abia just on alphabetical order-basis and she is proud of the achievement.
“We are excited about the opportunity to host the conference; it is a testament to the recognition of His Excellency’s achievement in public service reforms. The ongoing transformation in Abia State is in alignment with the reforms at the federal level; but most importantly equally met International standards.”
Despite all the achievements within this short period by the Otti administration, Eze said it is not yet Uhuru, informing that their mandate was not just to fill vacancies, but to build a workforce that is relevant, passionate, efficient, and prepared for the demands of 21st-century governance which she promised to deliver before she leaves office, in tandem with the promise Governor Otti made to the people of Abia.
