By GABRIEL AGBEJA

Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, says all ministries and extra-ministerial departments are expected to be entirely paperless by Dec. 31.

Walson-Jack made the declaration on Thursday in Abuja during her keynote address at the “Second Edition of the Citizens and Stakeholders’ Engagement.”

According to her, the government has determined to achieve the feat through the adoption of an enterprise content management system.

“Our goal is for citizens and users of public services to reach us online and receive instant responses and services. Today, we will let you have official emails of registries of ministries that are already paperless.

“As we add to the numbers, we will let you have these email addresses even through the media. We envisage that reducing human interaction would eliminate conflicts of inefficiency, delay and corruption.

“Digitalisation represents more than a shift to digital files but a leap towards a modern, efficient and transparent civil service where decision making is quicker, records are secure and processes are more innovative,” she said.

The HoCSF promised that ministries and agencies that would achieve the milestone would be specially recognised for their commitments.

She added that ministries and extra-ministerial departments on the new platform could talk to one another as files are more secure and virtual meetings are now possible.

Walson-Jack affirmed that all the initiatives employed by the government were homegrown.

According to her, the government system has provided official email accounts for over 92,000 public servants connecting the civil service in unprecedented ways.

“I acknowledge our partner, the Galaxy Backbone Nigeria Limited, who has helped us in no small measure to achieve these milestones as the official ICT provider for federal government.

“Our capacity building institutions- Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Badagry, Lagos State, Public Service Institute of Nigeria, Kubwa, Federal Capital Territory and federal training centres in six geopolitical zones of Nigeria remain pillars of professional development.

“ASCON delivers high-level management and leadership training for CEOs and Executive Directors of parastatals and agencies. It is currently being revitalised to serve you better,” she said.

She added that the federal training centres provided specialised technical and operational training for federal civil services and top management of parastatals and agencies.

She maintained that Office of the Head of the Civil Service strengthened competence, leadership and service delivery across the Nigerian public service.

She said the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation aimed at fostering transparency, accountability and collaboration to shape a more efficient citizen-centred civil service.

She affirmed that the citizens and stakeholders` feedback and insights were vital in strengthening service delivery and accountability.

Wilson-Jack stated that the citizens and stakeholders’ gathering reflected unwavering commitment and continuing effort to build an efficient, productive, incorruptible and citizen-centred service.

“We aim to foster trust by ensuring no citizen waits weeks for approvals or signatures, reinforcing our dedication to service excellence.

“For the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, citizens and stakeholders’ engagement is not a mere formality, but a strategic tool to improve transparency, reinforce accountability and foster collaboration.

“We are committed to opening our doors wider to new ideas, constructive criticism, shared innovations and collective efforts to enhance the civil service and your active participation is essential in this process,” she said.

According to her, implementation of Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025, popularly known as FC25 has strengthened capability building, digitalisation, innovation, accountability and workplace excellence.

"Our focus now is on consolidating these gains, scaling successful initiatives and deepening innovation to support ongoing reform and ensure sustainable improvement.

“Currently, we are conducting a personnel audit and skills gap analysis, otherwise known as PASSGAP and this audit and skills gap analysis is of the Federal Civil Service.

“The project entails a comprehensive assessment of the Federal Civil Service workforce to identify existing capacities and map critical skills gaps, generating reliable data to support evidence-based decision-making in workforce planning, training, development and policy formulation.”

She said the basic verification of civil servants in Nigeria had finished while verification for civil servants in the diaspora would be from Dec. 15 to Dec. 19.

She called on stakeholders’ continued support to build a more capable, future-ready civil service and to remain engaged in their vital efforts.

“We have also recorded significant achievements with the performance management system (PMS) which is transforming how ministries set expectations, evaluate outcomes and build a culture of market equity.

“The landmark is no longer in use. We have already begun to use the performance management system scores for promotion.

“Structured feedback, clear performance indicators and measurable outcomes are already improving productivity across the service.

“PMS remains one of our strongest reform legacies and I commend all who have embraced it,” she said. (NAN)