Aiyedatiwa Launches AI System For Ondo Civil Service

Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has launched an Artificial Intelligence-powered digital system for personnel administration, retirement and pension processes in the state civil service.

Christened “Ondo AI,” the Digital Human Resource Management System is designed to provide government with up-to-date personnel information and support decision-making on issues relating to the workforce.

Speaking at the launch held at the Cocoa Conference Hall, Governor’s Office, Akure, Aiyedatiwa said the initiative was part of efforts to move the state public service from manual processes to digital administration.

The governor said the state could no longer operate a 21st-century public service with analogue systems, stressing that accurate and timely information was necessary for effective administration.

“We cannot expect the 21st-century public service to operate an analogue system indefinitely, with systems designed principally for another era. This is the technological era. We cannot remain and be working with an analogue system,” he said.

Aiyedatiwa said government decisions were dependent on the quality of information available to those responsible for taking them, urging officers handling the system to ensure that accurate information was entered.

“Leadership is about decision-making. And every leader takes decisions based on the information at hand. If the information is accurate, the decision will be near accurate. And if the information is inaccurate, the decision will be false,” he said.

He said the digitisation programme would simplify administrative processes, reduce bureaucratic delays and improve the government’s ability to maintain and retrieve personnel records.

The governor also urged public servants to embrace the new system, acknowledging that its implementation could come with adjustments and challenges.

In his address, the Head of Service, Chief Segun Odusanya, said the initiative was aimed at modernising personnel administration, noting that the public service had relied substantially on manual records and traditional procedures.

Odusanya said the system would improve the management of personnel records, support workforce planning and provide government with information on workers’ deployment, competencies and career progression.

A demonstration of the system showed that it would provide records of civil servants, including appointment and promotion details, qualifications and other relevant personnel information.

It would also support retirement processing, pension migration and access to payslips, while enabling government to identify workers approaching retirement.