Nigeria Advances Sovereign Digital Infrastructure, AI-driven Public Service Reforms At ICSC 2026

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to improving public service delivery through sovereign digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and accelerated public service digitalisation at the International Civil Service Conference (ICSC) 2026 in Abuja.

The conference brought together Heads of Service from different states and countries, senior government officials, reform experts, and technology stakeholders to discuss the future of governance and digital transformation in Africa, using the Nigerian Public Service as a benchmark.

Speaking at the event, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, said the Federal Civil Service was embracing innovation, resilience, and technology-driven reforms to strengthen governance and service delivery.

She disclosed that all 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments met the December 2025 deadline to fully digitalise their operations and transition to paperless governance.

According to her, the Federal Government’s Service-wise GPT platform – an AI-powered tool designed to help civil servants navigate service rules and institutional knowledge, has recorded over 50,000 conversations.

“These are not vanity metrics. They are evidence that technology, when it solves real problems, gets adopted,” she said.

Walson-Jack stressed that artificial intelligence must support human capacity and improve public service delivery, not replace human judgement.

She also credited the progress in public service reforms to the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, noting that the administration had strengthened accountability, performance, and results across the public sector.

The Head of Service further commended Galaxy Backbone and their technical partner on the 1Government Cloud programme for supporting the Federal Government’s digitalisation agenda.

Also speaking, Group Chief Executive Officer of Crown Interactive and technical partner to Galaxy Backbone on the GBB 1Government Cloud, Wumi Oghoetuoma, presented the company’s vision for Africa’s sovereign digital public infrastructure.

He described the 1Government Cloud framework as a government-focused digital workspace designed to place civil servants at the centre of public sector transformation.

“The civil servant is also a citizen. She is not just the person behind the desk; she is the person the desk was built to serve,” he said.

Oghoetuoma explained that the platform implemented in collaboration with Galaxy Backbone provides secure digital workplace tools for government, including official email systems, electronic document management, digital forms, e-signature services, video conferencing, identity management, and workflow automation on sovereign infrastructure.

He added that the initiative aligned with global Digital Public Infrastructure principles while promoting government-owned infrastructure, data sovereignty, and full data portability across African public institutions.

He further outlined support programmes for the public service community, including ICT capacity building, innovation challenges, placement opportunities for dependants of civil servants, support for retired government IT directors, and annual digital excellence awards.

According to him, up to 20 per cent of revenues generated from the 1Government Cloud initiative would be reinvested into programmes supporting civil service technology communities across Africa.

Participants at the conference also discussed the future of work in the public sector, financing reforms, partnerships for digital transformation, and strategies for building resilient and citizen-focused public institutions.

A major highlight of ICSC 2026 was the Deal Room initiative, designed to help stakeholders formalise partnerships and sign Memoranda of Understanding during the conference.

Organisers described the conference as a platform for practical commitments aimed at accelerating public service reforms and improving governance across Africa.