The Federal Ministry of Education today welcomed a new Permanent Secretary in the person of Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack.
Mrs Walson-Jack was welcomed by the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary (DOOPS), Alh. Zubairu Abdullah and other directors on Tuesday, January 16, 2023, upon her arrival at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
In her keynote address, the newly appointed Permanent Secretary promised to foster a culture of excellence and meritocracy within the Ministry.
She also stressed the importance of maintaining truth, honesty, fairness, and justice in all operations:
“We must adhere to the principles of Truth, Honesty, Fairness, and Justice in our operations.
“To this end as your Leader and the Chief Accounting Officer of the Ministry, I pledge always to uphold the truth. I shall be honest with you all the time. I shall always endeavour to do right to all men and women without fear or favour”, she said.
Speaking further, she expressed enthusiasm about joining the Federal Ministry of Education, one of the ministries, which she said had a nationwide mandate to prescribe and maintain uniform education standards throughout the country.
“In line with the Strategic Plan, we should aim to improve the quality of public service delivery, providing a more lasting trajectory for the country’s progressive development.
“The six priority areas of the Plan include the acceleration of capacity building and Talent Management. Institutionalisation of the Performance Management System, Improvement of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System Institutionalization of Innovation in the Public Service Digitalization, and Staff Welfare.
“To encourage excellence and meritocracy and ensure high levels of staff motivation, we would establish a robust performance-driven Rewards and Recognition System, even before it is implemented Service-wide as planned by the OHCSF.
“This would be our way of institutionalising the implementation of the relevant Public Service Rules on Rewards and Recognition for Outstanding Work and Meritorious Service,” she said.
Walson-Jack, first appointed as a Permanent Secretary in 2017 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, has demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment in various capacities, including her roles as Permanent Secretary in the Service Welfare Office of the Head Of Service of the Civil Service of the Federation, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Federal Ministries of Power, and Water Resources, and Sanitation.
