Federal Civil Service Reveals Date to Go Fully Paperless

The Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), has officially migrated to the new ‘1Gov Cloud’ platform.

The move represents a key step in the government’s ongoing effort to digitise operations and achieve a paperless service across all ministries and extra-ministerial departments by the end of 2025.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who led the “Go-Live” ceremony on Monday, stressed that the December 31, 2025, deadline for abandoning paper-based workflows was mandatory.

“We did say that come December 31, 2025, the ministries and extra-ministerial departments would go paperless. And so for us today, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation migrating to our own indigenous ‘1Gov Cloud’ is very remarkable,” she said.

Walson-Jack expressed her appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the digitisation agenda. “What better way than to be digitalized? So I’m very excited. I’m very happy,” she added.

Clarifying potential misunderstandings, she noted that the platform does not mean civil servants can work from home.

“No, that does not mean you can stay in your house and do work. It only means your work is going to be more efficient, you will be more productive, and the work will be more transparent.

“It means that now our workflows will be seamless, and that indeed, we would not spend so much time doing work that could be done in a smarter way,” she explained.

Walson-Jack outlined the shift from the previous ‘Laserfish’ system to the indigenous ‘1Gov Cloud’ Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), highlighting national sovereignty as a primary reason.

“The first reason is the national sovereignty of digital infrastructure. Moving to 1Gov Cloud, therefore, aligns with a national shift to sovereign digitalisation and directly protects Nigeria’s data, platforms and digital future,” she said.

She added that the platform, developed by government-owned Galaxy Backbone Limited, ensures national interoperability, cost efficiency, and quicker adoption across all ministries.

The Head of Service assured that the system is inclusive for all civil servants from Grade Level 3 upwards. Integrated tools such as ‘GovMail’ for email, ‘GovDrive’ for file access, and ‘GovConnect’ for virtual meetings will enable officers to handle workflows digitally.

She further revealed that the ECMS will integrate with the Performance Management System (PMS) by 2026, fundamentally transforming accountability.

“Every task becomes auditable. Every approval becomes traceable. Every output becomes measurable. This is how we finally shift from performance by perception to performance by evidence,” she said.

To ensure rapid nationwide adoption, Walson-Jack announced that a committee of Permanent Secretaries would be formed with a two-week mandate to negotiate a unified licensing structure with Galaxy Backbone.

“The deadline for all ministries and extra-ministerial departments to go paperless remains 31 December 2025. This is not aspirational, this is authorisational,” she said.

Framing the initiative as essential for national competitiveness, she added, “We are not digitalizing for theatrics. We are digitalizing because we are building a nation that must compete and win in the world that we live in.”