The Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has begun the transition to a fully digital workflow in a move aimed at eliminating paper-based processes, reducing approval delays and improving service delivery across the ministry.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of the Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), a platform designed to replace manual documentation and approvals within the ministry.
According to Keyamo, the deployment of the ECMS will eliminate manual bottlenecks, shorten approval cycles and strengthen service delivery across all units of the ministry.
He said the system would also guarantee national sovereignty over the country’s digital infrastructure by providing a unified and secure platform for official records and correspondence.
“From this point forward, the era of paper-based processing within this Ministry must give way to disciplined digital practice,” Keyamo said, adding that all official correspondence should henceforth be routed through designated electronic registry channels.
Speaking at the event, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, commended the leadership of the ministry for embracing digital transformation, describing the shift as both timely and necessary.
She said reliance on paper files was no longer sustainable in a sector where safety, accuracy and timeliness were critical, noting that documentation plays a central role in aviation safety standards and international obligations.
“In a technically intensive ministry where documentation underpins safety standards and international obligations, choosing to go digital is not just progressive but essential,” she said.
Walson-Jack noted that the aviation ministry occupies a strategic position in Nigeria’s development architecture, enabling connectivity, trade, tourism, security and technological advancement.
She described the ECMS launch as more than the deployment of a digital tool, saying it signalled the ministry’s commitment to modernising public service delivery across aviation regulation, airport development, air transport services, meteorology and the broader aerospace ecosystem.
According to her, the deployment of the ECMS on the Federal Government’s 1Gov Cloud platform represents a fundamental shift in how public service business is conducted, offering secure digital records, automated workflows, electronic approvals, interoperability and real-time collaboration.
She added that decisions would increasingly be driven by timely access to information rather than the physical location of files.
Walson-Jack said the milestone places the ministry on track to meet the Federal Government’s directive for full digitalisation of work processes by December 31, 2025.
She noted that the initiative also advances Pillar Five of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025, which prioritises the digitalisation of work processes across ministries, departments and agencies, and aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for a more efficient, accountable and digitally enabled public service.
