Federal government has banned  the use of personal email accounts, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail, for official public-sector transactions, mandating that civil servants transition to a secure, institutional digital platform.

This ban requires all government officials to use secure institutional platforms with the approved .gov.ng domain to safeguard sensitive data.

The announcement was made in Abuja by Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head, the Civil Service of the Federation, during a digital transformation summit held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Galaxy Backbone.

According to Walson-Jack, the government has activated more than 115,000 official GovMail accounts to ensure that communication within the federal civil service remains secure, professional, and easy to track.

She said government activities should no longer rely on personal email services or informal channels that make record-keeping difficult.

The Head of service explained that official information must remain within government systems even when an officer leaves a position.

This, she said, will help preserve important records and prevent the loss of government information tied to individual workers.

The Head of Service also disclosed that the Federal Government achieved a major target by completing the digitalisation of work processes across all 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments before the end of December 2025.

She described the development as proof that reforms can succeed when there is clear leadership and commitment from government institutions.

According to her, the achievement shows that the civil service is capable of adapting to modern methods of operation.

Walson-Jack recalled that in the past, government files could easily be delayed, misplaced, or trapped in lengthy approval processes.

She said the shift to digital systems now makes it easier to monitor documents, improve accountability, and measure progress in government operations.

Walson-Jack added that the paperless civil service initiative is aimed at making government work more efficient by cutting delays, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, improving transparency, and allowing records to be retrieved and processed faster.

Payaza Africa Limited has launched Shopaza, an artificial intelligence-powered e-commerce platform designed to help African businesses and merchants sell products and receive payments more efficiently across multiple markets.

The platform, unveiled in Lagos, is aimed at simplifying cross-border commerce by providing merchants with integrated payment infrastructure, AI-enabled business tools and access to international markets through a single platform.

According to the company, Shopaza is available across 23 countries in Africa, North America and Europe, where Payaza currently operates, offering businesses a scalable platform to manage online sales and payments.

Speaking at the launch, Seyi Ebenezer, Chief Executive Officer of Payaza Africa, described Shopaza as a major step toward unlocking Africa’s commerce potential.

“Africa’s commerce potential has always been there. What was missing was the infrastructure to unlock it.

“At Payaza, we have spent years building the payments backbone that businesses across this continent rely on. Shopaza is the natural next step, taking everything we have built and putting it directly in the hands of merchants who deserve better tools, better access, and better opportunities.

“Today, we are not just launching a product. We are making a statement that African businesses can compete and win on a global scale. Shopaza is live in 23 countries. The infrastructure is ready, the vision is clear, and we are just getting started,” he said.

Also speaking, Sola Ashiru, Group Head of Marketing and Communications at Payaza Africa, said the platform was developed after a comprehensive assessment of the African e-commerce landscape.

“We studied the African e-commerce ecosystem carefully and identified three critical gaps holding merchants back: limited access to AI-powered tools, weak payments infrastructure, and a broken settlement process. Shopaza was built specifically to close those gaps.

“This is not a rushed product; it is a well-thought-out solution to the most persistent pain points in African commerce today. While we are launching in Nigeria, our operational footprint already spans Africa, North America, and Europe.

“We have also established partnerships with local entities across key markets to drive grassroots adoption. Ultimately, we have solved an African problem, and Africans need to know about it,” he said.

Ashiru further explained that Shopaza offers an all-in-one solution designed to simplify selling and accelerate business growth for merchants.

“The platform features AI-powered onboarding and smart selling tools that enable users to set up quickly, manage storefronts with ease, and optimise pricing and product listings for improved performance.

“Shopaza also provides free, integrated marketing tools to boost visibility and help merchants attract and retain customers without additional costs,” Ashiru noted.

Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has reaffirmed its commitment to implementing a National Digital Postcode System to assign a unique digital address to every addressable building across the country.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Post Code Delineation Model Validation 2026 in Abuja, Tola Odeyemi, postmaster general and chief executive officer, NIPOST, said the initiative would establish a machine-readable standard location-address framework for buildings nationwide.

“Postcode is basically a framework used to have a machine-readable standard location address for every addressable building in Nigeria,” Odeyemi said.

She explained that the project would place Nigeria among the first countries in Africa to develop a postcode system down to the unit level, ensuring that each standing building is assigned a unique code.

According to her, the digital postcode system is expected to enhance service delivery, logistics operations, emergency response, and national planning by improving the identification of locations across the country.

Odeyemi noted that the diversity of Nigeria’s geography necessitated different approaches to address mapping and postcode allocation.

“Nigeria is a large country. We have all the way from the top of Nigeria, which is almost like the Sahel, to the Savannah, to the Middle Belt, to the tropical South and even to the riverine areas.

“The logic that will work for Jigawa is not the same logic that will work for Bayelsa because they have completely different geographical expressions, density of buildings, population distribution, and topography,” she said.

She said the postcode delineation process was designed to ensure that postcode boundaries align with existing administrative structures and do not overlap local government boundaries.

“Delineation has to make sure the postcode does not pass administrative boundaries, and it must not go across two local government areas,” Odeyemi stated.

The NIPOST boss further explained that the validation exercise involves testing aerially mapped polygons against actual settlement patterns and geographical realities in different parts of the country.

“To test the polygons we have drawn aerially, we must ensure they accurately reflect realities on the ground. For example, the density of buildings in Lagos, particularly in Mushin, is very different from the density of buildings in Abuja. We are making sure that density maps and topographical features are properly captured for each state in Nigeria,” she said.

She described the Post Code Delineation Model Validation exercise as a critical stage in the agency’s broader digital addressing initiative, which seeks to create a comprehensive and standardised postcode framework for the country.

Nigeria has long grappled with an inefficient addressing system, making it difficult to accurately identify locations for postal services, logistics, emergency response, and public planning.

NIPOST’s National Digital Postcode System is part of efforts to create a standardised and technology-driven addressing framework that assigns a unique code to every addressable building in the country.