Author(s) :

UMUNNAKWE Vincent O. Ph.D.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

With widespread advances in artificial intelligence globally, human resource management (HRM) practices are undergoing a fundamental digital transformation. However, little discourse has examined how artificial intelligence can be applied in public service in Nigeria. Given the widespread inefficiency in HRM practices in Nigeria, led by flaws in recruitment, performance appraisal, talent retention, and workforce planning, coupled with bureaucratic diseconomies and austerity measures from the government, there is a need to make use of digitally enabled HRM solutions. This paper examines the opportunities, challenges, and administrative implications of adopting artificial intelligence in Nigeria's public administration HRM, along with the policy options these raise. It conceptualises technological readiness, data quality, leadership buy-in and the regulatory environment as independent variables that shape AI integration pathways across core HR functions, with public-sector efficiency, equity, employee experience and service delivery performance as dependent variables, mediated by those integration pathways and moderated by ethical governance and change-management capacity. Based on socio-technical systems and technology-organization-environment approaches, this research adopts a mixed-methods design, involving interviews with senior public service HR and ICT policymakers in selected federal and state government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), complemented by a structured questionnaire for mid- and senior-level public servants in those MDAs. The research contributes to knowledge on the cautious pattern of AI experimentation (from automation in hiring to biometrics), hindered by data and skills gaps, concerns about algorithmic ethnic and geopolitical bias, and bureaucratic politics. Conceptually, this paper contributes to digital PDA thought in a managerialist, pluralist, and neglected Global South bureaucratic context; practically, it sketches out an incremental pathway to AI integration. Policy proposals include national standards for AI ethics in government; mandatory impact assessments of algorithmic ethnic and geopolitical bias; state-sponsored training for public officials; and institutions that encourage experimentation, accountability, transparency, fairness, and public service values. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Human Resource Management; Public Sector; Digital Transformation; Nigeria; Workforce Analytics; Algorithmic Decision-Making; Public Service Delivery

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