Digitisation: FG sets December deadline for federal civil service to go paperless

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has said that the Federal Civil Service is working assiduously to achieve a digitalised and paperless service, latest by 31st December, 2025. She said this on Wednesday in Abuja during the World Press Conference on the Commemoration of the 2025 African […]

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has said that the Federal Civil Service is working assiduously to achieve a digitalised and paperless service, latest by 31st December, 2025.

She said this on Wednesday in Abuja during the World Press Conference on the Commemoration of the 2025 African Public Service Day and the Civil Service Week.

She said that 11 ministries have so far become paperless in their operations, while others are at various levels of implementation of the policy.

She said that the upcoming week is a defining moment in Nigeria’s journey to reposition its civil service into a modern, development-driven institution capable of regional and international leadership.

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On the digitisation, Mrs Walson-Jack said the service is helping the ministries having funding challenges hampering their implementation with partners to provide the funds.

“You know, at the beginning of this year, we realised that the strategy plan, the FC 25, ends this year, precisely on December 31 of this year. And we said to ourselves, we must accelerate the implementation of all the pillars of reform of that plan. And one of the key pillars of that plan is digitalisation.

“And so we are saying to all the MDAs, you have to go paperless, and we are not saying what we are not doing or experiencing. Because I’m happy to let you know that even before I came on board, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has been paperless.

“So what they are doing is to accelerate the digital transformation. And I’m happy to let you know that it was only last week that I was in the Federal Ministry of Health to launch their enterprise content management system, and they became the 11th ministry and Inter-Ministerial department to become paperless,” she said.

 Walson-Jack added, “The others are at different levels of implementation, some have funding problems, and with that, we were able to get our partners to fund some of these ministries. And so the race to December 31 is on.

“And so to answer your question, the civil service, by the grace of God, and with our working very hard, will go paperless by December 31, 2025.”

She said that digital transformation is not only about going paperless, as it entails more issues.

“Because going paperless means that we are automating our work processes and our workloads. But we want to go beyond that, and so if you recollect, in my first 100 days, we launched some digital platforms, and I would like to remind you of those platforms, because those platforms were launched in a bid to ensure the digital transformation of the federal civil service,” Walson-Jack said.

She said that partners are doing a lot on digital literacy as they are committed to training the civil servants.

She said that the partners have started training 600 civil servants, while the federal civil service has gone further by training them on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

She said, “We are very much on top of digital literacy, 31,000 civil servants have their official emails, which resulted from the war rooms.”

The HCSF said that the study tour to Singapore, which was a collaboration between the federal civil service and 36 state civil services, is already yielding many benefits.

She noted that since the tour, many state civil services have begun to do things differently, carrying out various programmes and engaging more with the Federal Civil Service.

This is as she also said that no fewer than 5,000 delegates and participants from across Africa and beyond are expected to attend Nigeria’s International Civil Service Conference, scheduled to hold in Abuja from June 25 to 26, 2025.

According to her, the event is a major highlight of this year’s Nigerian Civil Service Week and Africa Public Service Day celebration, which will run from Friday, June 20, to Saturday, June 28, and will be declared open by President Bola Tinubu.

This historic conference, themed “Rejuvenate, Innovate and Accelerate,” will bring together public service leaders, reformers, and stakeholders from across the continent and the wider international community.

he HCSF said, “African Public Service Day: A Continental Legacy. As you may know, African Public Service Day was adopted at the 1994 Pan-African Conference of Ministers in Tangier, Morocco. It is celebrated across the continent on the 23rd of June to honour public service values, promote professional excellence, and showcase public sector innovation.

“In alignment with Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU), Nigeria commemorates this day with a week-long series of events to celebrate achievements and stimulate forward-looking policy dialogue. This year, we are incorporating the African Public Service Day into our Civil Service Week and taking the celebration to new heights.”

Walson-Jack said, “The meat of the Week would be the two-day International Civil Service Conference (ICSC). The ICSC will welcome delegates with a cocktail party on Tuesday evening, June 24th. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will declare the conference open on Wednesday, June 25th, 2025, at Eagle Square, Abuja. A total of 5,000 delegates and participants are expected at the conference.”

The HCSF said that the confirmed speakers for the ICSC included a diverse group of speakers from the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Ghana, Nigeria, and others.

Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Service Policies and Strategies Office (SPSO), Dr Deborah Odoh, said that the vision is to have a world class service.

She commended the HCSF, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, for her exceptional leadership since assuming office.

She noted that new transformative innovations have been introduced since she came on board.