Ethics of Public Administration and the Philosopher’s Role in Policy Advisory: Evidence from Federal Ministries in Abuja

This study examines the philosophical ethics of public administration and the potential role of professional philosophers and ethics specialists in policy advisory positions within Nigerian federal ministries in Abuja, located in the North Central geopolitical zone. Ethics in public administration addresses the moral obligations of civil servants, the philosophical foundations of just policy, and the mechanisms through which ethical deliberation can be institutionalised in government. Using a professional practice design, the study draws on the ethics of public administration from Dennis Thompson, Terry Cooper, and African administrative ethics scholarship, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 25 senior civil servants, policy analysts, and applied philosophers in Abuja provide the primary data. The study examines specific policy domains including health, education, and infrastructure where ethical considerations have been systematically marginalised in cost-benefit analyses. Findings reveal that Nigerian federal policy-making is dominated by technocratic and political calculation frameworks that inadequately represent the moral dimensions of policy choices, particularly their distributive consequences for the poorest Nigerians. The study argues that institutionalising philosophical ethics expertise in policy advisory structures would improve the moral quality of public decisions. Recommendations include the establishment of an Office of Policy Ethics within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Keywords: public administration ethics, policy advisory, applied philosophy, Abuja, government ethics.