Federal government has banned the use of personal email accounts, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail, for official public-sector transactions, mandating that civil servants transition to a secure, institutional digital platform.
This ban requires all government officials to use secure institutional platforms with the approved .gov.ng domain to safeguard sensitive data.
The announcement was made in Abuja by Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head, the Civil Service of the Federation, during a digital transformation summit held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Galaxy Backbone.
According to Walson-Jack, the government has activated more than 115,000 official GovMail accounts to ensure that communication within the federal civil service remains secure, professional, and easy to track.
She said government activities should no longer rely on personal email services or informal channels that make record-keeping difficult.
The Head of service explained that official information must remain within government systems even when an officer leaves a position.
This, she said, will help preserve important records and prevent the loss of government information tied to individual workers.
The Head of Service also disclosed that the Federal Government achieved a major target by completing the digitalisation of work processes across all 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments before the end of December 2025.
She described the development as proof that reforms can succeed when there is clear leadership and commitment from government institutions.
According to her, the achievement shows that the civil service is capable of adapting to modern methods of operation.
Walson-Jack recalled that in the past, government files could easily be delayed, misplaced, or trapped in lengthy approval processes.
She said the shift to digital systems now makes it easier to monitor documents, improve accountability, and measure progress in government operations.
Walson-Jack added that the paperless civil service initiative is aimed at making government work more efficient by cutting delays, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, improving transparency, and allowing records to be retrieved and processed faster.
