Conflict Prevention Frameworks in Federal Government Ministries in Abuja

This study investigates the state of conflict prevention frameworks within selected Federal Government ministries in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, North Central Nigeria. Public sector organisations are subject to chronic internal conflicts arising from competing institutional mandates, resource allocation disputes, and inter-departmental rivalries, which undermine effective governance delivery. Despite Nigeria's significant public service reform efforts, structured conflict prevention mechanisms within ministries remain underdeveloped. Using a professional practice research design, the study conducted structured interviews with 45 civil servants at director, deputy director, and mid-level officer grades across four ministries, supplemented by documentary review of the Federal Civil Service Commission's staff welfare and dispute resolution guidelines. The theoretical framework draws from organisational peace theory and the dual concern model of conflict management. Findings indicate that informal social networks, such as association meetings and informal mentoring, constitute the primary conflict management resource within studied ministries, while formal grievance channels are perceived as punitive rather than rehabilitative. Human resource departments lack trained conflict management personnel, and inter-departmental conflicts are frequently escalated to permanent secretaries rather than resolved at origin. Recommendations include establishing dedicated conflict management units within each ministry's human resource department, training middle management in principled negotiation and interest-based conflict resolution, and developing a Federal Civil Service conflict management protocol that provides for tiered, structured dispute resolution processes. Keywords: conflict prevention, federal ministries, public sector, Abuja, human resource management.