Vice-President Kashim Shettima will on Wednesday declare open the 2026 colloquium of the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries, CORFEPS, in Abuja.
The event, scheduled to hold at the Rotunda Conference Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will examine the role of the civil service in effective governance and national development.
The colloquium is the flagship event of the two-day CORFEPS Week, scheduled for October 28 and 29, under the theme, “Navigating the Headwinds of Governance: Centrality of the Civil Service.”
A statement by Olusegun Adekunle, chairman of the planning committee, said the event would bring together serving and retired public service leaders, policymakers, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss challenges facing governance and ways to strengthen the Nigerian civil service.
The immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, is expected to deliver the lead paper at the colloquium.
The paper will be reviewed by a panel comprising the immediate past Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack; a retired federal permanent secretary and pioneer Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Habiba Lawal; and the Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, MacKalba Danjuma Usman.
The session will be chaired by Senator Cyril Olawale Fasuyi, chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters.
Discussions will focus on how the civil service can maintain its institutional continuity while promoting impartiality, transparency, accountability, efficiency, productivity and integrity.
Participants are also expected to examine ways to improve citizen-centred service delivery amid contemporary governance challenges and preparations for another political transition.
The event will feature the unveiling of the maiden edition of the CORFEPS Journal, which the council said was part of its efforts to promote informed discussions on public administration, governance and national development.
Expected attendees include members of the Federal Executive Council, serving and retired permanent secretaries, heads of government agencies and commissions, members of the diplomatic community, development partners, business leaders, civil society organisations and media representatives.
The national chairman of CORFEPS, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, will welcome participants to the event.
Among the public service figures expected to attend is Ebele Okeke, Nigeria’s first female Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The CORFEPS Week will continue on Thursday, October 29, with the council’s Annual General Meeting at 10 a.m. at the Olusegun Obasanjo Hall, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
The programme will end with the CORFEPS Dinner and Awards Evening at 7 p.m. at Aso Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.
Instituted in 2025, the CORFEPS Awards recognise individuals whose contributions have strengthened the Nigerian civil service and advanced national development.
This year’s ceremony will honour additional founding icons of the council and former heads of the civil service of the federation.
According to the statement, the awards are intended to celebrate the contributions of former public service leaders and establish a credible and transparent framework for recognising outstanding service by serving officials.
The council said the 2026 CORFEPS Week would draw on the institutional memory, experience and expertise of retired public service leaders to help build a more effective, accountable and citizen-focused civil service.
