The Nigerian Government, through the Galaxy Backbone, has launched the 1Government Cloud Academy, a strategic move to advance the country’s transition to a paperless civil service and enhance communication across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The initiative was spotlighted during the 2025 International Civil Service Conference held in Abuja, which President Bola Tinubu attended.
Declaring the conference open, Tinubu underscored the strategic importance of data in governance, describing it as “the new oil,” but unlike oil, he said its value increases with refinement and responsible use.
The President directed all ministries, departments, and agencies to rigorously capture data, safeguard it under the Nigerian Data Protection Act (2023), and release it in ways that drive public value, ensuring alignment with international data privacy standards.
“We must let our data speak for us,” Tinubu said. “We must publish verified data assets locally and share them globally. This will enable international benchmarking and strengthen Nigeria’s standing on the world stage.”
He further stressed that data sovereignty and privacy must be rigorously preserved within local and allied data centres.
In her remarks, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Didi Esther Walson-Jack described Nigeria’s digital reforms as a model for others, citing the automation of processes through the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system, the introduction of a Performance Management System, and the deployment of ServiceWise GPT, which aligns individual roles with national priorities.
Giving a detailed analysis of the initiative at a panel session during the event, Wumi Oghoetuoma, programme director of the 1Government Cloud initiative, emphasised the critical role of trust and understanding in the adoption of digital tools.
“Many digital solutions have failed not because they were ineffective, but because users didn’t trust or fully understand them,” Oghoetuoma noted.
He praised the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for her decisive reform efforts in the digitalisation of the public sector and highlighted that the training covers both technical competencies and essential soft skills needed for transformation.
On his part, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, also addressed the gathering, commending Nigeria’s reform agenda under President Tinubu.
“These are bold and necessary steps for long-term development,” he said, emphasising that the success of the reforms depends on efficient service delivery and integrity within the civil service.
