Nigeria has achieved a historic milestone as the Federal Civil Service officially becomes fully paperless, completing a nationwide digital transformation across all ministries and extra-ministerial departments.
Announcing the breakthrough in Abuja, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, described it as a decisive break from the country’s decades-long paper-based bureaucracy.
“As of December 30, 2025, every federal ministry and extra-ministerial department now operates digitally,” she said. “This marks a bold shift towards a modern, accountable, and technology-driven public service.”
The reform, according to Walson-Jack, strengthens transparency, accountability, and service delivery while aligning Nigeria’s governance structure with global best practices.
Reform Built Over Years
She credited the achievement to years of consistent reform under successive Heads of Service. The digital journey began in 2017 with Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita’s Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (2017–2020), which introduced the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) concept.
Her successor, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, advanced the process through the 2021–2025 strategy, expanding ECM into a wider digital content management system.
“The focus evolved from merely scanning documents to transforming how information flows and how services are delivered,” Walson-Jack explained.
Rapid Progress Under Walson-Jack
When she assumed office in August 2024, digital adoption across ministries was just 30 per cent. Now, 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial bodies—including the State House and the Office of the Attorney-General—are fully digital.
A key pillar of the reform is the expansion of GovMail, the official government email system. The number of official email accounts has grown from fewer than 20,000 in 2024 to over 100,000 by the end of 2025, ensuring secure, auditable communication across government.
Training and Cybersecurity Focus
With the paperless target achieved, attention is now turning to sustainability, optimisation and cybersecurity. A major training programme, supported by the UNDP, will begin in January 2026, training 500 master trainers to cascade digital skills across the civil service.
Civil servants will be trained on platforms such as Service-Wide GPT, GovMail, and the Federal Circulars Compendium, ensuring consistent digital literacy across government.
End of Paper Submissions
In a major shift for public interaction, ministries will no longer accept physical letters or paper files. All correspondence must now be submitted electronically to official registry email addresses published on the HCSF website.
Citizens can track submissions through the Federal Civil Service Paperless Portal, improving transparency and eliminating the long-standing problem of missing files.
Infrastructure and Partnerships
To sustain the system, the government is collaborating with development partners and telecom companies to improve internet access, provide digital devices and ensure affordable connectivity. The ECM platform’s mobile-friendly design allows secure remote work for civil servants.
Walson-Jack credited President Bola Tinubu and members of the Federal Executive Council for their leadership, also acknowledging the technical support of NITDA and Galaxy Backbone Limited.
She thanked the media for helping to build public trust throughout the reform process, adding that Nigeria’s digital civil service marks “a new era of efficiency and global competitiveness.”
