Abia State has commenced its journey to the digital governance space following the official launch of the first phase of the State Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network and Managed Network Services project.
The project which was flagged off on Friday March 21, 2025 in Umuahia by Governor Alex Otti was aimed at digital transformation of Abia with ipNX, a reputable ICT engaged for the implementation.
Otti promised that his government would make “generous investment” in information technology to ensure a successful implementation of the ambitious initiative that would ultimately place Abia in the sphere of modern governance.
He stated that all the State Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) would be linked with high speed internet connectivity thereby revolutionizing governance, engender efficiency in civil service, and connect Abia economy to the global digital space.
The Governor explained that the project “is a carefully coordinated programme of digital infrastructure layer and integration and will involve the acquisition and distribution of thousands of high performance digital tools and devices” across MDAs .
He stated that it also involved laying of fibre optic cables within the spaces of state owned public institutions, adding that “our goal is to improve governance deliverables by empowering civil servants to do their jobs in a result oriented manner”.
Otti listed “the direct and medium term goals” to include streamlining of the bureaucratic structure of the civil service, faster turnaround time, effective document archiving and tracking”.
Other listed benefits were objective data driven performance management processes and the gradual elimination of the structures that impede personnel and institutional productivity”.
He said that the choice of ipNX to implement and drive the digital transformation of Abia was informed by the firm’s demonstrable capacity in building of cutting edge digital infrastructure in Nigeria.
The Abia Governor underlined the critical role that civil service play in determining the success or failure of government programmes and enjoined the state workforce to embrace the digital transformation project.
He assured Abia civil servants that “sufficient resources have already been earmarked for capacity building programmes (as) we want to achieve seamless deployment across all service institutions across the “state.
“Going forward, certain levels of efficiency with the use of relevant technology shall now be required as a necessary condition for exposure to new opportunities and promotions in the civil service,” Otti said.
He warned that “while the state will avail its employees all the right support to scale their IT systems knowledge, it is incumbent on everyone to appreciate that the old era of operational inefficiency is gone for good”.
“You either upskill and grow or become uncompetitive and stagnant. This is not to threaten anyone, this is just to call your attention to the need for you to open yourselves up to the new technology. If you resist technology, technology will resist you,” Otti stated.
In his address, the Group Managing Director of ipNX, Mr. Ejovi Aror expressed his gratitude to the Abia Governor “for granting us the privilege and opportunity to be part of this transformative initiative”
“This partnership signals the beginning of a new chapter in the journey towards building a digitally connected, technologically advanced, and economically empowered Abia State,” he said.
Aror assured the Abia Governor of the readiness of ipNX to play its part in ensuring “the fulfilment of a vision that recognizes the power of technology and innovation as key drivers for economic progress and development”.
“Together, we will create a digitally empowered environment that ensures citizens, businesses, and government institutions are interconnected like never before,” he said.
The State Head of Service(HoS), Mr. Benson Ojeikere, in his remarks, said that it was gratifying that Governor Otti has given the state civil service priority attention, saying that the digital transformation was hood for the service.
He promised that Abia workers would key into the digital project and demonstrate it with “the way we are committed to our work, the sense of diligence, the sense of urgency, the sense of integrity and the kind of hunger to deliver on our expectations”.
“We are actually going to reciprocate by moving the service to the next level, beyond what has never been experienced in this country,” Ojeikere said.