Dare Babalola
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has announced that all federal ministries in Nigeria have transitioned to a paperless system.
She stated that all ministries have been digitalised, eliminating the need for paper in government activities.
Addressing the press on Wednesday, she revealed that over 100,000 email accounts have been created for civil servants on the GovMail platform, giving them official government email addresses.
This ensures secure, professional, and auditable communication across the civil service, she added.
The HCSF explained that henceforth, no federal ministry would accept any paper correspondence but only scanned letters sent through the appropriate email addresses.
She added that the Federal Civil Service has now expanded its digital efforts to include 38 Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments, MEMDs, 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 Accountant-General of the Federation.
Walson-Jack said, “This strengthens sovereignty over official correspondence, enhances responsiveness across MDAs, and reduces reliance on unofficial communication channels.
“Additionally, GovMail is saving the Federal Government billions of Naira annually by reducing dependence on fragmented, agency-specific external email subscriptions and licenses, delivering better value-for-money.
“Engagements are ongoing with telecommunications providers to make online access more affordable for Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments and to enhance the reliability of connectivity needed for digital workflows.
“At the same time, a sustainable pricing model is being created to keep digitalisation platforms affordable, scalable, and maintainable over the long term, ensuring service continuity and value-for-money for the government.
“To consolidate these gains and end the culture of paper-based bureaucracy, the 38 Federal Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments will no longer accept paper submissions through their physical registries.
“All correspondence to the MEMDs should now be sent to the official registry
email addresses, which can be found on the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation website.
“Citizens can also now track their correspondence with individual MEMDs through the Federal Civil Service
Paperless portal. In simple terms, a paperless Civil Service means that Citizens and the International Community no longer need to send traditional paper letters with envelopes to communicate with the Federal Civil Service.
“Instead, a scanned letter sent via email or correspondence, with attachments from a personal or organisational email address, to any MEMD would be sufficient.”
