NIMC goes fully paperless, mandates digital-only correspondence in 30 days

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced it will stop accepting paper-based correspondence within 30 days, marking one of the most definitive moves yet by a federal agency to enforce a fully digital operating model.

The Commission unveiled WorkflowPro, an internally developed digital platform that will now serve as the sole channel for both internal and external communications. After the transition window, all letters and official submissions must be processed electronically through the portal.

The move positions NIMC at the forefront of the federal government’s push to institutionalise a paperless public service under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. It also signals a broader shift in how Nigeria’s public institutions handle documentation, compliance, and record-keeping.

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Unlike previous digitisation efforts that ran parallel with manual processes, NIMC’s directive draws a clear line: physical file movements will cease. Stakeholders, including government agencies, corporate partners, and members of the public, must submit correspondence through the Commission’s designated online platform.

At the heart of the reform is traceability. According to the Commission, WorkflowPro enables end-to-end tracking of submissions, structured routing across departments, secure electronic archiving, and standardised record management. This replaces the risks associated with lost files, delayed approvals, and fragmented documentation systems that have long characterised public sector administration.

The decision aligns with the federal government’s Enterprise Content Management (ECM) policy, which mandates digitisation of official records across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). By moving ahead with enforcement timelines, NIMC becomes one of the first major identity institutions to operationalise the policy in concrete terms.

Beyond administrative efficiency, the implications are institutional. NIMC manages Nigeria’s foundational identity database, a system central to financial services, telecommunications, social intervention programmes, passport issuance, and national security operations. Strengthening documentation control within such a critical agency directly affects data governance credibility.

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The Commission said the platform was developed in-house by its technical team under the directive of Abisoye Coker-Odusote, the director-general/chief executive officer. The internal development approach suggests a deliberate attempt to build sovereign digital capacity rather than rely entirely on external vendors.

Analysts say this may also reflect heightened sensitivity around data security and official communications, particularly as Nigeria deepens its digital public infrastructure architecture.

By digitising correspondence flows, NIMC is expected to reduce response timelines, eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, and create audit trails that enhance accountability. Electronic archiving further strengthens compliance with information management standards, an area where several public institutions have historically struggled.

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However, the success of the reform will depend on stakeholder adaptation. The 30-day transition period provides a narrow window for institutions and individuals accustomed to manual submissions to adjust to the new process. For smaller organisations with limited digital literacy capacity, onboarding could pose short-term challenges.

Still, the Commission’s directive is unambiguous. Once the deadline expires, paper submissions will no longer be accepted.

The reform comes amid wider federal efforts to digitise service delivery, automate public sector workflows, and reduce administrative overhead. For NIMC, whose operations sit at the core of Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, the shift to a paperless model reinforces its positioning as a foundational pillar of the country’s digital governance framework.

If effectively implemented, the Commission’s move could serve as a template for other MDAs seeking to translate policy rhetoric around digital transformation into enforceable operational standards.