In a decisive move to safeguard national security and maintain confidentiality, the Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, has initiated measures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of official government documents classified as sensitive.
This initiative comes in response to recent incidents where sensitive documents were leaked to the public, causing considerable embarrassment to the government.
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, underscored the gravity of the situation in a memo posted on the website of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, dated February 19, 2024.
Dr. Yemi-Esan expressed concern over the leakages, labelling them “unacceptable” and highlighting the need for immediate action to address this issue.
The memo tagged HCSF/3065/VI/189 reads, “It has been observed with dismay, the increase in the cases of leakage of sensitive official documents in Ministries, Departments and Agencies. This is very embarrassing to the government and therefore unacceptable.
“As part of the efforts to curb this undesirable development, all permanent secretaries are to fast-track the migration to the digitalised workflow system, and ensure effective deployment of the Enterprise Content Management Solution,
“This will reduce physical contact with official documents thereby checking the increasing incidence of leakage and circulation of same.
“Furthermore, permanent secretaries are advised to strongly warn all staff against leaking and circulating official information and documents.
“Any officer caught engaging in such unbecoming act will be severely dealt with in line with the relevant provisions of the Public Service Rules and other extant circulars.”
