Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service has crossed a historic threshold, completing its long-anticipated transition to a fully paperless system and signalling a decisive shift in the culture and mechanics of public administration.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, OON, mni, announced the development in Abuja on Wednesday, confirming that all federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments became fully paperless as of December 30, 2025, in line with presidential and administrative directives.
The milestone, she said, marked the end of an era defined by physical files and manual registries, and the beginning of a digitally enabled public service built on speed, accountability and transparency.
“This is a bold transition from a paper-based legacy bureaucracy to a modern, accountable and digitally enabled public service,” Walson-Jack said. “All ministries in the Federal Civil Service are now paperless.”
While the achievement is historic, Walson-Jack stressed that it did not emerge overnight. Rather, it reflects a reform journey spanning several administrations, with each phase laying a foundation for the next.
The process formally began in 2017 with the launch of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (2017–2020) under Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, which for the first time positioned digitalisation as a strategic reform objective and introduced Enterprise Content Management into the public service.
That framework was expanded under Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, CFR, through the Federal Civil Service Strategy (2021–2025), shifting the focus from document digitisation to a broader rethinking of how government information is managed, decisions are taken and services are delivered.
When Walson-Jack assumed office in August 2024, she said digital adoption across the service was still limited, with only about 30 per cent of ministries operating partial paperless systems.
Since then, implementation has accelerated sharply. The reform now covers 38 federal institutions, comprising 33 ministries and five extra-ministerial departments, including the State House, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Civil Service Commission and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Central to the paperless transition is the expansion of GovMail, the Federal Government’s official email platform.
According to the HCSF, fewer than 20,000 civil servants had official government email accounts in August 2024. That figure has now risen to over 100,000, ensuring that every civil servant operates with a secure and auditable government email identity.
Beyond improving professionalism and data sovereignty, the shift has also delivered major cost savings.
By replacing multiple agency-specific subscriptions to external email services with a unified government platform, the Federal Government is saving billions of naira annually, while improving coordination and response times across ministries.
What Paperless Now Means for Citizens
Perhaps the most far-reaching change is how citizens and organisations interact with government.
Under the new regime, federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments will no longer receive correspondence through physical paper registries. All official submissions must now be sent electronically to designated registry email addresses, published on the website of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
Citizens can also track the status of their submissions through the Federal Civil Service paperless portal.
“A paperless civil service means citizens no longer need to send letters in envelopes,” Walson-Jack said. “A scanned letter sent via email to an official registry is sufficient.”
The reform, she added, eliminates missing files, strengthens audit trails and shortens response times, making government interaction more transparent and predictable.
With the paperless deadline met, attention is now shifting to sustainability.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation plans to intensify post-implementation optimisation, compliance monitoring and cybersecurity safeguards, while expanding digital workflows across departments and agencies.
In partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a service-wide Training-of-Trainers programme will be launched in January 2026, beginning with 500 trainers who will cascade hands-on digital skills across the service.
The training will cover platforms such as Service-Wide GPT, the online compendium of Federal Circulars, GovMail and other digital systems developed for civil servants and the public.
To deepen adoption, the Federal Government is engaging development partners, public institutions and private organisations to support the provision of digital devices for civil servants.
A mobile-first approach, supported by ECM’s mobile-friendly design, allows officers to work securely from anywhere, while ongoing engagements with telecom providers aim to improve internet affordability and reliability across ministries.
A sustainable pricing model is also being developed to ensure digital platforms remain affordable, scalable and viable over the long term.
Leadership, Partners and the Media
Walson-Jack credited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for providing the political will that made the reform possible, and acknowledged the support of ministers, particularly the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake.
She also commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, CON, as well as institutional partners including NITDA and Galaxy Backbone Limited, whose infrastructure support enabled the nationwide rollout of the OneGov ECM platform.
The media, she said, played a critical role in shaping public understanding of the reform.
A New Administrative Culture
Beyond technology, the HCSF said the reform represents a cultural shift in governance—one anchored on speed, integrity, institutional memory and public trust.
With the transition complete, the Federal Civil Service is positioning itself as a modern, performance-driven institution, aligned with Nigeria’s development priorities and international standards.
As 2025 draws to a close, the paperless milestone stands as one of the most far-reaching administrative reforms in recent public service history.
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Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service Enters Paperless Era
