Nigeria enters digital governance phase with Shippers’ Council ECMS launch
The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed that it has entered a new phase of digital governance with the launch of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council’s Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), describing it as a model for modernising public administration across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, unveiled the platform in Abuja on Tuesday, saying it reflects the government’s commitment to replacing outdated manual processes with technology-driven systems that promote efficiency, accountability, and transparency.
Akume affirmed that the ECMS marks a significant institutional upgrade for the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) and represents the type of reform needed to strengthen governance and enhance public service delivery nationwide.
He noted that the system is an internal tool aimed at tackling longstanding administrative challenges such as delays, missing files, inefficiencies, and opaque approval procedures that have hindered operations across government institutions.
According to him, the ECMS will improve documentation integrity, accelerate workflow processes, and boost communication within the Council, enabling it to deliver regulatory services to maritime stakeholders with greater professionalism and speed.
He highlighted features such as audit trails, automated approvals, and a centralised digital repository, describing them as global best practices that ensure transparency, prevent unauthorised alterations, and enhance institutional credibility.
Akume praised the Executive Secretary of the Shippers’ Council, Dr Pius Akutah, for leading one of the earliest implementations of President Bola Tinubu’s directive on digital records management, urging other MDAs to follow suit as part of the government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda.
He called on public institutions to adopt similar digital systems to strengthen internal capacity, stressing that widespread deployment of enterprise tools is essential to building a transparent, efficient, and future-ready federal bureaucracy.
