December 31 Deadline: Federal Civil Service hits paperless milestone as 38 ministries, others go digital

Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service has hit a historic year-end target, going fully paperless as all 33 Ministries and five Extra-Ministerial Departments (MEMDs) switch to digital operations.

The milestone, achieved on 30th December 2025, marks a decisive move from paper-based bureaucracy to a modern, accountable, and digitally enabled public service.

“Today, all Ministries in the Federal Civil Service are now paperless,” Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, OON, mni, told journalists.

“Citizens and businesses can now communicate with government entirely through digital channels, eliminating the delays and inefficiencies of traditional paper processes.”

The transition builds on reforms started in 2017 under Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and strengthened under Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, which introduced the Enterprise Content Management System (ECM) and a broader digitalisation agenda.

Since August 2024, Walson-Jack’s administration expanded paperless operations from just three MEMDs to 38, creating over 100,000 official GovMail accounts for civil servants.

“This ensures secure, auditable communication while saving billions of Naira annually,” she added.

She praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his leadership and commended ministers, permanent secretaries, and technical teams for their roles in achieving the milestone.

On the critical role of Galaxy Backbone, Walson-Jack said: “Galaxy Backbone Limited’s support was essential to the success of the 1Gov ECM rollout.Their institutional expertise and dedication made it possible to implement paperless operations at scale and meet the 31st December deadline.”

She also acknowledged the National Information Technology Development Agency and other strategic partners for enhancing implementation capacity.

Looking ahead, a Service-wide Training-of-Trainers programme, to be implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will commence in January 2026.

“500 trainers will educate officers across Ministries and MEMDs on digital tools like Service-Wise GPT, GovMail, and the Online Compendium of Federal Circulars to ensure sustainable adoption,” Walson-Jack said.

Under the paperless system, the 38 Ministries and MEMDs will no longer accept physical submissions. “All correspondence should now go to official registry email addresses, and citizens can track their submissions through the Federal Civil Service Paperless portal,” Walson-Jack explained.

“This ensures faster responses, clearer audit trails, and greater transparency.”The achievement ushers in a new era for Nigeria’s civil service, emphasizing efficiency, integrity, and accountability in public service delivery.

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