The Delta State Government’s revised dress code for civil servants looks less like a policy for professionalism and more like an attempt to police appearances without addressing the real issues facing workers.
Development Diaries reports that the state government announced a review of its dress code for public servants, citing the need to uphold decency and curb the growing trend of improper dressing in the state’s public service.
According to a statement recently shared on its official X handle, the government explained that the step was taken to reinforce discipline and decorum among officers.
However, this looks like misplaced priority on the part of the state government, as pointed out by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
Here are the issues:
Insisting on suits and ties in a tropical climate, where offices often lack reliable electricity for fans or air conditioning, prioritises form over function.
A professional public service is not defined by how expensive or ‘Western’ staff look but by the quality of service they deliver to citizens.
What makes this directive even more problematic is the lack of consultation with workers’ representatives.
The NLC has rightly pointed out that salaries are already stretched thin by inflation, rent, transport, and school fees, yet workers are now being compelled to invest in suits and gowns they can ill afford.
A policy that ignores the economic realities of the workforce only widens the gap between government and those who keep its machinery running.
There is also the troubling colonial undertone of the directive. Relegating African attire to Fridays and ‘special occasions’ sends the message that indigenous culture is second-class in the workplace.
In a period where many African nations are reclaiming identity and culture, this is a backward step that undermines cultural pride and suggests that only Western corporate fashion represents dignity.
True emancipation means celebrating African dress as part of daily professional life, not restricting it to ceremonial days.
Development Diaries calls on the Delta State government to rethink this policy. Instead of imposing rigid and costly dress codes, the government should engage workers, respect cultural identity, and focus on equipping offices with basic tools, chairs, tables, stationery, and working electricity, before dictating fashion standards.
The state government should withdraw this circular, consult widely with labour representatives, and design a dress policy rooted in affordability, inclusivity, and cultural pride, because governance should reflect the needs of the people, not the vanity of those in charge.
