FG to digitize 80% of operations by next year

By Kunle Sanni

The federal government has announced an ambitious plan to digitize 80 percent of its activities by next year as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s initiative to modernize Nigeria’s public sector.

This project aims to enhance efficiency, reduce corruption, improve transparency, and align Nigeria’s public sector with global best practices in e-governance.

During the opening of a digitalization training program for staff of the Office of the Vice President at the State House Conference Hall on Monday, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Hassan Ibrahim Hadejia, emphasized the urgent need to transform government operations through digital technologies.

Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), disclosed this in a statement on Monday. He highlighted that the digitalization effort is a crucial step toward achieving a more transparent, efficient, and accountable government.

“If you don’t go digital, you get to a point where you will fail to integrate with the rest of the world. Everybody is moving ahead, and you have to get to that level where you can at least get that connectivity,” Hadejia said.

The Deputy Chief of Staff noted the necessity of leading by example, saying, “If you have a State House that is digitized or has gone paperless, every agency and everybody would be forced to comply.”

He stressed that compliance must be enforced across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure the initiative’s success.

“Compliance has to be enforced because if you wait for everybody to be ready, you will not achieve the goal. If you have a situation where you are forced to present your requests or responses in a digital format, everybody will be forced to comply,” he said.

Drawing inspiration from the judiciary’s successful adoption of digital processes, Senator Hadejia said, “Surprisingly, the judiciary is almost at the forefront of digitization now. It simply happened because several years ago the Supreme Court said it will not tolerate paper processes from lawyers anymore.”

Earlier, State House Permanent Secretary, Engr. Olusesan Olufunso Adebiyi, said the State House decided to set up a training center to enhance efficiency among its workers, adding that more training would be organized periodically for staff members.

He also announced the procurement of 500 desktop computers and the establishment of a training center within the State House to enhance staff members’ productivity.

“We already have 500 newly acquired desktop computers manufactured and configured for use in the State House