President Bola Tinubu on Monday swore-in Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF). She took over from Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, who retires on August 14, 2024.
Since her first appointment as Permanent Secretary in 2017 by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs. Walson-Jack has worked in the Service Welfare Office of the Office of the HCSF, ministries of Niger Delta Affairs, Power, Water Resources and Sanitation before she was redeployed to the Ministry of Education, following the retirement of the then Permanent Secretary, Mr. David Andrew Adejo in January this year.
As a successor to a woman, her appointment excited many, especially those working to promote gender balance in the realm of Nigerian politics. Her background as a lawyer, who was called to the bar in 1987 after a law degree at the University of Lagos, Mrs. Walson-Jack started her journey as a State Counsel in the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, and was among the pioneer staff of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice, following the creation of the state in October 1996.
While congratulating her for attaining the peak in her career and wishing her a successful tenure in office, it is apparent that Mrs. Walson-Jack would be bringing a long and rich experience to the nation’s civil service in her new position, which has been aptly described as the engine room of government. She will no doubt need her experience in driving the government programmes and policies, as well as her talents to reform and sanitise the civil service that we all can be proud of.