CIVIL SERVICE

CONTENT

1. Meaning of Civil Service
2. Characteristics of Civil Service
3. Functions of Civil Service
4. Structure of the Civil Service
5. Honesty and Integrity in the Civil Service
   

Meaning of Civil Service

The civil service is the administrative area of the executive organ of government responsible for formulation and execution of government policies.

The civil service and its workers known as civil servants perform purely administrative and executive functions which entail formulating and implementing government policies. The departments in civil service are ministries headed by ministers or commissioners who serve as both the political and executive heads. The armed forces, the police, public corporations and governmental owned companies are not included in the service but are collectively called public service and their workers including the civil servants are called the public servants. In Nigeria, there are federal and state civil services, with each state in Nigeria having its own.

Characteristics of Civil Service

1. Permanence: The civil service is essentially a permanent government institution that does not change with the government that creates it.