Rules and Ethical Conduct Guiding the Performance of the Public Service Sector

Abstract

there are rules and regulations, code of conducts as well as modus operandi that guide people in every organization, the Nigerian public service is not exempted from it. The public service of Nigeria has been characterized with a high level corruption, gross misconduct, financial misappropriation, embezzlement of public funds, nepotism, low value, and all manner of unethical behaviours. All these persist despite the plethora of studies carried out to sanitize the system. It is against this backdrop, this paper was written, so as to look into the ethical rules and values in the public service of Nigeria. The various concepts were analyzed. An empirical study, exploring the secondary source of collection was carried out. The utilitarian principle propounded by scholars Jeremy Bethnam and John Stuart Mill, formed our thought process. This theory is premised on the principle of the greatest level of happiness in a society. The following findings were discovered; that despite the works done by various scholars on ethics and values in the public service of Nigeria, all manner of unethical behaviours remain pervasive. Also, the campaign on instilling right ethical standards and value system in the service of Nigeria, is a continuous process. In submission, the following but not limited, were recommended; an overhauling of the public service to ensure everyone (workers and applicants) would imbibe the ethics and values of the public service, those who manage government’s affairs must lead by example, and the empowerment of the office of the citizens so as to serve as watchdog to these public servants.