By Progress Godfrey

ABUJA – The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to deploy Nigeria’s National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) ahead of its nationwide rollout in October, saying the initiative would improve public service delivery, strengthen governance and support the digital economy.

Speaking at the National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System Workshop in Abuja on Thursday, themed: “Operationalising the Nigerian Digital Postcode for MDAs,” the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Nadungu Gagare, said the digital postcode would serve as a critical national digital infrastructure beyond traditional postal services.

He said, “This is why the Nigerian Digital Postcode represents far more than an improvement to postal services. It is a strategic national asset. It is a critical digital public infrastructure that supports service delivery, strengthens governance, enhances national security, promotes financial inclusion, improves logistics and e-commerce.

“The success of the Nigerian Digital Postcode system will not depend on technology alone. It will depend on partnerships. It will depend on interoperability across government institutions.”

Tijani urged participants to use the workshop to develop practical strategies for integrating the digital postcode into government operations, saying the system would help deliver better services and unlock new opportunities for innovation and economic growth.

In her remarks, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, represented by Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Dr Abdul Sule Usman Garba, described the initiative as a strategic tool for improving public administration, service delivery and digital governance.

She said the Office of the Head of the Civil Service would continue to support the project by working with relevant stakeholders to equip the civil service with the systems and capacity needed to meet the expectations of citizens in the digital age.

“The operationalisation of the Nigerian Digital Postcode is a strategic initiative that has the potential to significantly improve public administration, service delivery and digital governance across the country,” she said.

She added that the stakeholder engagement reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to building a more efficient, digitally enabled and citizen-centred public service.

Postmaster General of NIPOST, Omotola Odeyemi, said the digital postcode initiative would help government reach citizens more efficiently and ensure that no community is left behind.

She said the GIS-enabled system would assign every addressable location a unique, machine-readable and geographically anchored postcode, creating a common national location standard that can be used across government institutions. According to her, its success would depend on adoption, integration and collaboration across all levels of government.