Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has warned that fear of career reprisals can prevent civil servants from giving honest advice to political leaders, potentially exposing them to costly mistakes
Mustapha said officers who feared that speaking frankly could jeopardise their careers might resort to telling leaders what they wanted to hear rather than providing the professional guidance needed for effective governance
“Where officers fear that honest advice will cost them their careers, they may offer comfortable advice instead A service that cannot speak truth to power cannot protect power from its own mistakes,” he said.
He spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 colloquium of the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries and Heads of the Civil Service of the Federation (CORFEPS), themed “Navigating the Headwinds of Governance: Centrality of the Civil Service”
Mustapha, who served as SGF from 2017 to 2023, said the strength of the civil service lay not in agreeing with political authorities but in its ability to provide candid advice, implement lawful decisions and account transparently for results
He said professional independence was essential to effective governance, stressing that civil servants should be able to identify risks, present evidence and explain the likely costs and consequences of policy choices without fear
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who opened the colloquium, also highlighted the need for a constructive relationship between political leaders and career civil servants
He said public servants must uphold impartiality, integrity and responsible management of public resources, while political leaders should respect professional standards, value frank advice and provide the clarity, resources and authority required to implement policies
Represented by Sadiq Wanka, a Special Adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure, Shettima said the Federal Government was shifting its focus from the number of policies announced and committees inaugurated to whether interventions solve problems and improve citizens’ lives
CORFEPS National Chairman, Yayale Ahmed, said retired senior public servants had a responsibility to make their accumulated experience available to succeeding generations and contribute to stronger public administration
The colloquium also featured the unveiling of the CORFEPS Journal on Public Policy and Governance, intended to document administrative experience, preserve institutional memory and promote evidence-based policymaking
On his part, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Olumuyiwa Enitan Abel, said ongoing reforms were aimed at building an efficient, productive and citizen-centred service, stressing, however, that the “effectiveness of governance depends significantly on the ability of the Civil Service to advise objectively, implement policies efficiently and remain accountable to the citizens it serves”