Federal Government Launches One-Stop Portal for Easier Access to Services

(Dr Bosun Tijani. Photo by Punch News)

In an effort to enhance service delivery, cut bureaucracy, and further the nation's digital transformation agenda, the Federal Government on Tuesday unveiled the Government Service Portal, a digital platform intended to give Nigerians and businesses a single gateway to access government services.

Galaxy Backbone, in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, presented the platform at a soft launch in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the portal would tackle the long-standing challenge of citizens having to navigate multiple websites and government offices in order to access public services.

Describing the platform as the beginning of a unified digital gateway through which citizens and businesses can easily discover, access and consume services offered by government institutions from a single location.

According to him, government should be organised around the needs of the people rather than institutional boundaries, noting that while many Ministries, Departments and Agencies had digitised their services individually, the overall experience for users remained fragmented.

He explained that the Government Service Portal was designed to change that by bringing government services together under one trusted digital gateway, simplifying access, improving visibility, promoting consistency and creating a more seamless experience for everyone who interacts with government.

He noted that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda by improving public service delivery, deepening digital innovation and supporting economic growth through technology.

Adding that the portal forms a key component of Nigeria's Digital Public Infrastructure initiative, complementing existing national digital identity, payment and data exchange systems to create a more integrated digital government ecosystem.

He explained that the platform was being introduced through a soft launch to allow government agencies to onboard their services, strengthen system integration and gather user feedback ahead of a wider rollout.

Stressing that the success of the portal would ultimately be measured not by the sophistication of its technology but by the ease with which citizens can access government services.

The confidence businesses have when engaging with public institutions, the time saved, the transparency achieved and the trust built between government and the people it serves.

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nadungu Gagare, represented by the Director of E-Government, Johnson Bareyei, described the platform.

As one of the flagship projects under Nigeria's e-Government Master Plan 2.0, noting that it would provide a secure single sign-on system through which citizens can access government services without repeatedly submitting the same information to different agencies.

He said the event was not simply about providing a digital platform but about demonstrating what can be achieved when government agencies work together with a shared purpose to make public services easier, faster and more accessible for every Nigerian.

Gagare added that the platform supports the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, and Nigeria's Digital Public Infrastructure framework, stating that it would improve transparency, strengthen accountability, enhance ease of doing business and make government services more responsive to citizens.

The Country Director of KOICA Nigeria, Eunsub Kim, represented by the Senior Deputy Country Director, Ki-Hyun Baik, described the launch as the culmination of years of collaboration between Nigeria and South Korea, noting that the portal represents the flagship achievement of the "Building a Foundation Towards Digital Governance in Nigeria" project.

He said the event was more than the launch of a digital platform but the culmination of years of partnership, adding that the platform would enable citizens to access government services more conveniently through a single point of entry, describing it as the realisation of a true one-stop service.

He reaffirmed KOICA's commitment to supporting the project beyond the pilot phase, noting that digital governance requires continuous improvement and collaboration among stakeholders.

Also speaking, the Director of International Cooperation at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Sampson Ebimaro, described digital transformation as a strategic enabler of national development, urging stakeholders to prioritise inter-agency collaboration and continuous evaluation to ensure the project's success, stressing the need for feedback and ongoing assessment to avoid leaving gaps by the project's conclusion.

The Executive Director, Digital Exploration and Technical Services at Galaxy Backbone, Olumbe Akinkugbe, said user acceptance testing for the portal was conducted across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory prior to launch, disclosing that 184 participants took part in the exercise, with more than 80 per cent rating the platform as user-friendly and easy to navigate.

According to him, 88 per cent of participants were able to locate government services on the platform, 71 per cent rated it as fast or very fast, 91 per cent said they would use it again, and 99 per cent indicated they would recommend it to others.

Akinkugbe said feedback gathered during the pilot phase had already informed improvements addressing sign-up issues, image capture challenges and one-time password delivery delays.

Adding that more Ministries, Departments and Agencies would be onboarded in the next phase to expand the range of services available on the platform.