Digitalisation: A Strategic Imperative for Modern Aviation
By Gabriel Agbeja
Abuja, Dec. 19, 2025 (NAN) – In a decisive move to modernise its operations, the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has officially launched a disciplined digital transformation initiative, marking the end of its reliance on paper-based administrative processes. This shift is not merely a procedural update but a foundational change aimed at enhancing safety, efficiency, and national sovereignty in a critical sector.
Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, formally inaugurated the “I Gov Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS)” in Abuja on Thursday. He framed the launch as a critical step toward eliminating systemic inefficiencies that have long plagued government operations.
“For the country as a whole, this unified platform guarantees the national sovereignty of our digital infrastructure,” Keyamo stated. “From this point forward, the era of paper-based processing within this Ministry must give way to disciplined digital practice. This achievement will eliminate manual bottlenecks, shorten approval cycles from weeks to potentially days or hours, and strengthen service delivery across all units.”
To enforce this transition, the Minister issued a directive: “All official correspondence should henceforth be routed through hm.registry@aviation.gov.ng or ps.registry@aviation.gov.ng.” This move centralises communication and creates a verifiable digital audit trail, a crucial element for accountability and transparency.
Why Digitalisation is Non-Negotiable for Aviation
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, underscored the unique urgency of this transformation for aviation. She provided a vivid critique of the old system, noting, “In a sector where safety, accuracy, and timeliness are non-negotiable, relying on paper files that occasionally developed wings of their own is no longer sustainable.”
Her statement highlights a core issue: in a technically intensive ministry, documentation underpins everything from aircraft safety certifications and personnel licensing to international treaty compliance (like ICAO standards). Lost or delayed files aren’t just an administrative nuisance; they can directly impact operational safety and Nigeria’s standing in global aviation.
“Choosing to go digital is not just progressive but essential,” Walson-Jack asserted, positioning the ministry’s move as a strategic necessity rather than a mere technological upgrade.
Beyond Filing: The Tangible Benefits of the ECMS
Walson-Jack explained that the ECMS, deployed on the government’s secure 1Gov Cloud platform, represents a fundamental shift in public service workflow. The ministry will now benefit from:
- Secure Digital Records: Eliminating physical loss and damage, while ensuring controlled access and version history.
- Automated Workflows & Electronic Approvals: Documents can be routed instantly to the relevant officers, with alerts and reminders, drastically cutting down “file travel time.”
- Interoperability & Real-Time Collaboration: Multiple officials can access, review, and contribute to a document simultaneously from different locations, enabling faster consensus and decision-making.
- Data-Driven Decisions: As Walson-Jack noted, “Decisions will be driven by timely access to information rather than by the physical location of a file.”
A Broader Strategic Alignment
This launch is a key milestone in several overarching government agendas:
- Federal Digitalisation Deadline: It places the ministry on track to meet the directive for full digitalisation of all federal work processes by December 31, 2025.
- FCSSIP25 Pillar Five: It directly advances the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025, which prioritises digitalisation across all MDAs to build a world-class civil service.
- The Renewed Hope Agenda: The transformation aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision for an “efficient, accountable, responsive, and digitally enabled” public service. For citizens, this should translate to faster processing of permits, licenses, and requests, and more transparent operations.
“Today’s event is far more than the deployment of a digital system,” Walson-Jack concluded. “It is a statement of intent by a Ministry whose mandate spans aviation regulation, airport development, air transport services, meteorology, and the expanding aerospace ecosystem.” By joining the growing community of ECMS users, the Aviation Ministry is not just catching up; it is positioning itself as a digital leader within a sector where precision and efficiency are paramount to national progress and safety.
(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
FGA/ADA
Edited by Deji Abdulwahab
