Rahila Lassa and Othniel Canice in Abuja
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) has officially joined Galaxy Backbone’s 1Government Cloud Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) Platform to modernise public service operations and improve work efficiency across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Abuja, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, described the initiative as a milestone in modernising the Nigerian public service.
“Today is a defining day in the history of the Nigerian public service. We are excited to be going live on the 1Government cloud enterprise content management system.”
“The Galaxy Backbone One Government Cloud Framework is designed to break down silos across ministries, departments, and agencies.
“It enables seamless digital service delivery, interoperability of data, harmonised record keeping, and a unified citizen experience for submission and follow-up. This platform is becoming the backbone of digital transformation in Nigeria. It is also becoming the model for sovereign digitalisation for Nigeria and for our sub-national governments.”
Walson-Jacke said that the decision to migrate from laser fish to the one government cloud enterprise content management system was based on four strategic reasons that are both policy-driven and operationally essential for the future of the Nigerian public service.
According to her, “The first reason is the national sovereignty of digital infrastructure. Galaxy Backbone Limited, which is a government-owned enterprise having the responsibility for ICT provision for government work. Moving to one government cloud, therefore, aligns with a national shift to sovereign digitalisation and directly protects Nigeria’s data, platforms, and digital future.”
“The second reason is that the one government cloud delivers national interoperability and eliminates the fragmentation that comes with isolated deployments. This breaks silos, harmonises standards and enables seamless inter-MDA collaborations.”
“The third reason is scale advantage. When every ministry, department, and agency is on one Nigerian-owned platform, the government negotiates as one buyer, not hundreds of small, fragmented buyers. This unlocks cost efficiency, transparent pricing, unified capacity building, and a consolidated support model.”
“Finally, it is faster with more inclusive adoption. The one government cloud ECMS supports scan-as-you-go mobile device access, e-signatures, and configurable workflows. This means ministries do not need to wait to digitise all legacy files before going live.”
She reiterated that the deadline for all ministries and extra-ministerial departments to go paperless remains 31 December 2025.
Promote efficiency
Galaxy Backbone’s Managing Director, Ibrahim Adeyanju, represented by the Executive Director of Finance, Mohammed Sani Ibrahim, expressed optimism that the initiative will promote efficiency, innovation, and transparency in civil service operations nationwide.
“I think the story of this government is being told today because we have a digital directive from the president to make sure the civil service and the country are digitised. So this is just one step in that direction. What the head of service has done here today is remarkable.
“I don’t think people appreciate the gravity of what is taking place here today because we are moving from an old system to a totally new system to promote efficiency, innovation, and transparency in what the civil service does,” he said.
He added, “The beauty of this system is that it’s a government-owned ICT service provider. So there’s little to no reason for us to have any downtime. We are here to work with all agencies.
“The interagency collaboration is what we’re experiencing today. We don’t want to see any of this fail.”
He said that the head of service has been so generous to ensure that the migration extends to next year for those who are not ready.
Lateefah Ibrahim