By Asaye Bankole
The Ondo State Government has introduced an Artificial Intelligence-powered digital platform aimed at automating key civil service operations, including personnel administration, payroll management, retirement and pension processing.
The initiative, known as “Ondo AI,” was unveiled by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office in Akure on Thursday.
According to the governor, the platform is part of his administration’s broader effort to replace traditional analogue procedures with a technology-driven public service capable of delivering faster, more transparent and efficient services.
Aiyedatiwa said the initiative goes beyond the adoption of new technology, describing it as an attempt to transform the way government obtains information, makes decisions and delivers services to citizens.
He stressed that accurate and timely information was essential to effective governance, noting that government decisions are largely dependent on the quality of information available to those responsible for making them.
The governor said Ondo State could no longer rely indefinitely on outdated administrative systems in an era where digital technology and data increasingly influence public-sector operations.
He explained that the state’s digitisation programme was designed to simplify administrative procedures, reduce bureaucratic delays, strengthen institutional memory and make government services more accessible to residents.
During a demonstration of the platform, the Managing Director of SmartApps IT Limited, Godwin Odoma, said the system would automate several aspects of civil service administration, including payroll, retirement processing and pension migration.
Odoma explained that the platform contains detailed records of civil servants, including photographs, appointment information, promotion documents, academic qualifications, complaints and other relevant personnel records.
He said authorised government officials would be able to access the information when required, thereby reducing delays associated with retrieving physical documents and manually processing records.
The system, according to him, would also notify the government when a civil servant is approaching retirement.
Civil servants will equally be able to access a self-service platform through which they can determine the exact number of days remaining before their retirement date.
Odoma said the feature would help workers have clearer information about their employment status and retirement timelines without depending entirely on manual enquiries.
In his welcome address, the Ondo State Head of Service, Chief Segun Odusanya, described the initiative as an important step towards modernising the state’s public service.
Odusanya said the public service remains the machinery through which government policies, programmes and initiatives are translated into practical benefits for citizens.
He added that the effectiveness of the service depends significantly on how human resources are managed, developed and deployed.
The introduction of Ondo AI is expected to support the state government’s efforts to improve administrative efficiency, strengthen access to personnel information and reduce reliance on cumbersome paper-based processes.
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