The Arewa Professional Forum has called on the Federal Government to fast-track the automation of the Federal Civil Service and expand paperless governance across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, saying stronger digital systems are essential to improving transparency, accountability and efficiency in public administration.
The group said recent developments surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council should serve as a reminder of the need to strengthen institutional processes through technology-driven governance rather than relying on manual administrative procedures.
In a statement issued on Saturday, APF National President Auwal Muhammed said the government should focus on consolidating ongoing civil service reforms capable of preventing administrative lapses through digital innovation instead of assigning blame over isolated incidents.
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He said the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, under Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has driven one of Nigeria’s most ambitious public sector digital reform programmes through the deployment of the Enterprise Content Management System, GovMail, the 1-GOV Cloud Platform and other technology-based initiatives.
According to the forum, the reforms are replacing cumbersome paper-based procedures with secure digital platforms that promote transparency, accountability, efficient record management, faster decision-making and seamless communication across government institutions.
The group argued that a fully digitised communication, approvals and records management system would significantly reduce administrative lapses by creating verifiable audit trails and improving institutional accountability.
It urged the Federal Government to extend digital transformation across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, saying wider adoption of automated systems would make procedural shortcomings easier to identify, monitor and prevent.
The APF also noted that the benefits of the reforms are already becoming evident through improvements in electronic correspondence, payroll integrity, digital performance management, online examinations, merit-based processes and capacity-building programmes.
It maintained that technology-driven governance remains critical to improving service delivery in sectors including education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure and public administration.
The forum called on the Federal Government to sustain and strengthen the ongoing reforms, insisting that nationwide adoption of digital governance would improve collaboration among government agencies, protect official records and position Nigeria’s public service to meet the demands of a modern economy.
