The Federal Government has announced that all ministries across Nigeria have fully transitioned to a paperless system, marking a major milestone in the digital transformation of the civil service.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, made the declaration on Wednesday, stating that all federal ministries have been digitalised and no longer require paper for official government operations.
She disclosed that more than 100,000 official email accounts have been created for civil servants on the GovMail platform, ensuring that all government communications are conducted through secure, professional, and auditable official email identities.
According to Walson-Jack, federal ministries will no longer accept physical paper correspondence. Instead, all communications must be submitted as scanned documents sent via the appropriate official email addresses.
She explained that the Federal Civil Service’s digital expansion now covers 38 Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments (MEMDs), including 33 ministries and five extra-ministerial bodies such as 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 Accountant-General of the Federation.
“This initiative strengthens control over official correspondence, improves responsiveness across MDAs, and reduces dependence on unofficial communication channels,” she said.
Walson-Jack added that the GovMail system is saving the Federal Government billions of naira annually by cutting down on fragmented external email subscriptions and licenses, thereby delivering better value for money.
She noted that discussions are ongoing with telecommunications providers to make internet access more affordable for ministries and extra-ministerial departments, while also improving connectivity reliability for digital workflows. A sustainable pricing framework is also being developed to ensure that digital platforms remain affordable, scalable, and maintainable in the long term.
To fully entrench the paperless system and eliminate bureaucratic delays associated with paper documentation, the HCSF said the 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments will no longer receive paper submissions through physical registries.
“All correspondence to MEMDs must now be sent to their official registry email addresses, which are available on the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation website,” she said.
She further revealed that citizens can now track their correspondence with individual MEMDs through the Federal Civil Service Paperless Portal, stressing that both Nigerians and the international community no longer need to send physical letters to engage with the Federal Civil Service.
“Going forward, a scanned letter sent via email, with relevant attachments from a personal or organisational email address, will be sufficient for official communication,” Walson-Jack added.
0 Comments