By ABAH ADAH, Abuja
Federal Ministry of Works has formally joined the league of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, on 1-GOV Enterprise Content Management, ECM, platform, marking a major milestone in its transition from analogue operations to a secure, efficient and fully digital system.
The Go-Live event took place on Tuesday, December 23 at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, bringing together the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, HCSF, permanent secretaries, senior government officials, civil servants and key stakeholders committed to advancing the digitalisation of the public service, according to a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Works, Mohammed Ahmed.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, who was represented by the Minister of State, Bello Goronyo, expressed delight at the presence of the HCSF for the launch.
He commended her dedication to institutional reforms and digital transformation across the Service, describing the ministry’s transition as a thing of joy and pride. He pledged the leadership’s full support for the initiative and its successful implementation.
The HCSF, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, described the launch as a demonstration of the ministry’s readiness to align service delivery with modern, secure and efficient digital best practices.
She highlighted the ministry’s critical role in national development, through the planning, construction, reconstruction, expansion, rehabilitation and maintenance of federal road networks that connect communities, enables commerce and facilitates economic growth. “Strengthening its information management systems,” she noted, “is both timely and strategic”.
Mrs Walson-Jack commended the ministry’s leadership for their foresight and shared commitment to a seamless transition. She also praised directors and staff for their openness to change, saying “in a sector where records, approvals and institutional memory are fundamental, the deployment of the ECM solution reinforces professionalism, continuity and accountability”.
She emphasised that the migration extends beyond technology, representing a fundamental improvement in how work is organised, decisions are documented and collaboration is enabled.
With its integration into the 1-Gov Cloud ecosystem, the ministry is now better positioned to operate seamlessly and securely, in alignment with broader public service standards.
The head of service hinted that this achievement followed the successful migration of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF, some time ago, to reflect growing momentum in collective digitalisation efforts across the service.
She added that the epoch-making initiative will contribute meaningfully to the federal government’s roadmap for the full digitalisation of work processes and flows by December 31, which advances Pillar 5 of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025, FCSSIP 25.
She acknowledged Galaxy Backbone, GBB, Limited for its professionalism in hosting the digital infrastructure, which strengthens data sovereignty and provides a shared and secured digital platform, in line with one of the items on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu – improving governance for effective service delivery.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Rafiu Adeladan, welcomed guests and staff to the Go Live ceremony and expressed gratitude to the HCSF for attending the formal unveiling.
He described the occasion as a defining moment in the ministry’s journey towards a more efficient, transparent and digitally driven operation.
Mr Adeladan also expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his visionary leadership and commitment to public service reforms, noting that the support and approvals received made the milestone reachable.
He explained that “the ministry’s digital transformation journey began on April 19, 2023 as a comprehensive reform programme to eliminate manual processes through the deployment of ECM solutions.
The programme, according to him, was implemented in two strategic phases: Phase One, completed in 2024, laid the foundation for system deployment and digitisation, followed by Phase Two, covering application deployment, secure cloud hosting, experimental onboarding and extensive capacity building.
Among the key achievements highlighted were the rollout of DocuFlow ECM software, using a hybrid on-premises and cloud infrastructure, creation of over 2,000 official email accounts to enable secure electronic correspondence and the establishment of a dedicated ECM scanning centre to support ongoing digitisation. Capacity building remains central to the transition, with numerous training, onboarding and awareness programmes conducted across departments, units and field offices.
The permanent secretary disclosed that the ministry has digitised over 70 percent of its records, despite the volume and complexity of the documentation being attended to. He disclosed that collaboration with OHSCF, OECD ECM Preparation Team and GBB has strengthened institutional efficiency, secured records management and improved service delivery to Nigerians.
