2025 ICSC: Housing Ministry’s Dr. Ibrahim Kogbe Wins HCSF EPIC Award

Dr. Bamidele Ibrahim Kogbe, an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer in the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has won an EPIC Award for the 2025 International Civil Service Day celeberated in Nigeria 

The EPIC award was instituted by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack for federal civil servants who distinguished themselves in the service at their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The acronym EPIC stands for Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible, and Citizen-Centered. It represents the core values and a culture change initiative which the office of HCSF is actively promoting through various means. 

The award ceremony which took place at the state house banquet hall was part of activities celebrating the 2025 international civil service day in Nigeria.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr.Shuaib Belgore in company with some Directors of the ministry were on hand to witness the award giving ceremony, along with the immediate past Permanent Secretary, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, now in Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
 

The Housing Sector stole the show with the Directors and two Permanent Secretaries  dancing and rejoicing with the awardee.

Dr. Kogbe holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Dundee, UK, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria.

At the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Kogbe consistently exceeds his primary performance expectations. Asides his routine work as Technical Assistant to Director (Special Projects Unit), he volunteered to ensure that the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP25) and Performance Management System (PMS) is institutionalised in the Ministry. 

He facilitated several trainings of the Ministry on FCSSIP25 and PMS, as well as coordinated the timely submission of FCSSIP25 Quarterly Performance Reports of the Ministry to OHCSF.  Dr. Kogbe equally facilitated the Ministry’s inaugural PMS Day and was also the keynote lecturer.

Another landmark contribution he made was the conceptualisation of the Ministry’s first Cybersecurity Awareness Lecture, and served as a member of the Ministerial Technical Team at various national programmes.

His service wide impact includes; co-authoring of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 (FCSSIP25), crafting three of its six core pillars: Performance Management, Digitalisation, and Staff Welfare. 
He also proofread and refined the entire document for clarity and policy coherence. 

He co-developed the FCSSIP25 Quarterly Performance Tracking Template, now adopted service-wide, institutionalising performance accountability and transforming reporting practices. 

One of his greatest landmark was his proposal to recognise high-performing Permanent Secretaries which was subsequently adopted and implemented during the 2023 Civil Service Week.

Also through extensive capacity-building efforts, Dr. Kogbe has trained over 10,000 civil servants across 22 MDAs in performance management, innovation, and leadership. He has embedded the AMPLE Culture (Accountability, Meritocracy, Professionalism, Loyalty, and Efficiency), and mainstreamed the EPIC Ethos (Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible, and Citizen-Centred). 

Beyond his Ministry’s nomination, Dr. Kogbe enjoys broad endorsements from senior civil service figures with whom he previously worked, especially at OHCSF, where he spent the first 13 years of his Service. They have provided written attestations and affirmations as evidence of his extraordinary contributions, describing this national honour as long overdue.

Dr. Kogbe is not merely deserving of Civil Service recognition - he is a beacon of the values Nigeria’s civil service must champion. Honouring him is more than rewarding excellence; it is a strategic affirmation of meritocracy, reform, and visionary leadership. This award is not just fitting, it is imperative.