The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a significant shift towards digitalization, with all federal ministries transitioning to a fully paperless mode of operation. According to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, every ministry has been fully digitalized, eliminating the need for paper in government transactions.
This development marks a major milestone in the country’s efforts to modernize its civil service, with over 100,000 email accounts created for civil servants on the GovMail platform. The platform ensures secure, professional, and auditable communication across the service, with all federal workers now operating with official government email addresses.
As part of the digital transformation, federal ministries will no longer process paper correspondence, and only scanned documents sent through designated official email addresses will be accepted. This move is expected to strengthen sovereignty over official correspondence, enhance responsiveness across government agencies, and reduce reliance on unofficial communication channels.
The digital transformation covers 38 Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments, including the State House, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the Federal Civil Service Commission. The GovMail platform is also expected to save the Federal Government billions of Naira annually by reducing dependence on external email subscriptions and licenses.
To consolidate these gains, the 38 Federal Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments will no longer accept paper submissions through their physical registries. Instead, citizens can send correspondence to official registry email addresses, which can be found on the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation website. A paperless portal has also been created, allowing citizens to track their correspondence with individual government agencies.
The shift to a paperless civil service is a significant step towards improving efficiency and transparency in government operations. With this development, citizens and the international community can now communicate with the Federal Civil Service through email, eliminating the need for traditional paper letters. The government is also working to make online access more affordable and enhance the reliability of connectivity needed for digital workflows.