Policy Development in the Nigerian Civil Service: Learning to Leading:

A Paper on Rethinking Nigeria's Policy Challenge 

Nigeria's policy failures are often blamed on poor implementation. However, evidence suggests the problem starts much earlier. Following a Policy Writing and Review Workshop for Federal Civil Service directors, we examined some of the barriers to policy effectiveness in Nigeria. Our latest Insights publication explores those findings and offers practical recommendations for strengthening policy development across the public service. 

In August 2025, we delivered a Policy Writing and Review Workshop for Federal Civil Service directors in partnership with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS). 

The lessons and evidence gathered from the training informed our latest Insights paper, “Policy Development in the Nigerian Civil Service: Learning to Leading.” The publication challenges the assumption that policy failure is primarily an implementation problem. Instead, it highlights how weaknesses in policy formulation, including limited technical capacity, inadequate data, weak stakeholder engagement, and political interference, can undermine policy effectiveness from the start. 

Drawing on the learning outcomes of the 150 participants of the training, the paper demonstrates how targeted capacity-building can strengthen policy writing and review, while offering practical recommendations for improving policy development across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). 

The publication highlights how strengthening the capacity of civil servants to write and review policies can improve policy development and contribute to more effective governance outcomes 

Read the full publication here to explore the findings, lessons, and recommendations.