Deborah Tolu-Kolawole

The Federal Government has banned its Ministries, Departments and Agencies from patronising private printing firms.

A leaked memo obtained exclusively by our correspondent, and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said the decision followed incidents of confidential government documents being exposed.

The directive makes it compulsory for all MDAs to use the Federal Government Printing Press, domiciled in the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, for their printing needs.

The memo, addressed to all ministers, permanent secretaries, heads of agencies, and directors-general, partly reads:

“Further to the Federal Government’s directive as outlined in Circular Ref. No. C/87/S.5/6 of 16th September, 1996, regarding the need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies to patronise the Federal Government Printing Press to safeguard the integrity of government documents, it has been observed that some MDAs, over time, have patronised private printers for official and confidential documents instead of the Federal Government Press.

“This non-compliance has created exploitable gaps for the production of fake gazettes and other official documents, unauthorised leaks of government information, as well as access to sensitive materials.

“It has therefore become necessary to restate that the Federal Government Printing Press, a department in the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, was established with the core mandate of printing official gazettes, security documents and meeting all printing needs of MDAs.

“Consequently, all MDAs are hereby directed to utilise the Government Printing Press to ensure the safety and confidentiality of government documents.

“Honourable ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of agencies are to ensure adequate circulation of and compliance with this circular.”

This move comes against the backdrop of previous embarrassments over leaked government documents.

In 2024, the Federal Government accused civil servants of leaking confidential memos, including one in which Akume requested N1bn from President Bola Tinubu for the activities of a minimum wage committee.

Another leak revealed that former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, received N3bn COVID-19 funds for the verification of the national social register.