Nigeria has reached a major milestone in public sector reform, with the Federal Government announcing that all 31 federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have now achieved 100 per cent compliance with digital operations, completing the transition to a paperless civil service.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, disclosed this on Wednesday night in Abuja at the Paperless Civil Service Gala and Awards Night, describing the development as a turning point in Nigeria’s journey toward modern, efficient governance.
According to Walson-Jack, the reform marks the full migration of government operations from manual, paper-based processes to digitally driven systems designed to improve speed, transparency and accountability across the civil service.
“Digitalisation, which for many years sounded like a good idea we would get to ‘one day,’ has finally arrived,” she said. “We can now speak of it not as a concept, but as a reality.”
She traced the achievement to years of sustained reform efforts by successive administrations, stressing that the digital push was aimed at enhancing productivity rather than replacing civil servants.
Walson-Jack credited her predecessors, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita and Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, for laying the foundation through the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plans (2017–2020 and 2021–2025).
When she assumed office in August 2024, she said only three ministries were fully digitised. The introduction of special inter-ministerial “war rooms,” designed to accelerate implementation and enforce accountability, helped ensure the service met its 2025 deadline.
The HCSF said the paperless transition has already produced measurable outcomes. Over 100,828 official government email accounts have been created, a move she said has saved the government billions of naira in licensing and administrative costs.
She added that Service-Wise GPT, an artificial intelligence tool trained on public service rules and procedures, has recorded more than 25,000 user interactions, while the Online Compendium of Circulars has eliminated the need for time-consuming physical document searches.
As part of efforts to modernise workforce capacity, Walson-Jack also announced the launch of the Federal Civil Service Online Academy, a digital platform aimed at improving continuous training and professional development for civil servants.
She said the transition was guided by the Nigeria First policy, with all digital solutions developed locally to support the domestic technology ecosystem and demonstrate indigenous innovation.
“This is a defining moment,” Walson-Jack said. “Countries that fail to go digital with their public services are not merely slow; they are uncompetitive and increasingly irrelevant. Nigeria is now setting a bold example for public services across Africa.”
She thanked President Bola Tinubu for providing political backing for the reforms under his Renewed Hope agenda, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, permanent secretaries and reform teams across MDAs for sustaining momentum.
In his remarks, Akume described the paperless transition as a landmark achievement in Nigeria’s evolution toward modern governance, commending the Office of the Head of the Civil Service for successfully aligning policy goals with execution.
He said the awards presented during the event reflected the government’s commitment to recognising innovation and excellence within the civil service.
The event, sponsored by Galaxy Backbone Limited and Crown Interactives Limited, was attended by cabinet ministers, senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.