The Ondo State Government has deployed an artificial intelligence-powered digital system to manage civil servants’ personnel records, payroll, retirement and pension processes, as the state moves to replace manual administrative procedures with automated systems.
According to the state’s statement on X, the system, named Ondo AI, was launched on Thursday by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office in Akure.
The platform is designed to give the government real-time access to personnel information, automate payroll and retirement processes, and facilitate the migration of retiring workers from active service to the pension system.
“Governor Aiyedatiwa said the initiative is aimed at replacing outdated analogue processes, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, improving decision-making and strengthening transparency in government,” the statement read.
The launch builds on the state’s earlier deployment of Ondo Pay, an AI-enabled human resources and payroll platform designed to centralise employee records, salary computation, approvals, payroll processing and pension migration. Since its deployment the system has disbursed N9.7 billion in pension and gratitudes to 2,802 covering outstanding pension and gratuity obligations involving workers in the mainstream civil service, secondary school teaching and non-teaching services, and state parastatals.
According to the government, the digital system contains comprehensive records of civil servants, including photographs, appointment details, promotion letters, academic qualifications, complaints and other relevant documents.
It stated that authorised government officials will be able to access the records electronically, while the system is also designed to alert the government when workers approach retirement.
Civil servants can use the self-service component to access their payslips and personnel information and determine the number of days remaining before their retirement, according to Godwin Odoma, Managing Director of SmartApps IT Limited, the company that developed the system.
Mr Odoma said the system was also designed to automate pension migration and reduce delays between retirement and the commencement of pension payments.
“With the self-service application, you don’t have any reason to say you don’t know when you are going to retire,” he said.
Government expects greater control of personnel records
Mr Aiyedatiwa said the initiative was aimed at replacing analogue processes, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and improving the quality of information available to the government for decision-making.
He said effective governance depended on accurate and timely information, adding that digitisation should not be viewed merely as the introduction of technology but as a means of changing how the government operates.
“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.
The governor urged public servants responsible for entering information into the system to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the records.
The Head of Service, Segun Odusanya, described the platform as a major step towards modernising the state’s public service.
He said reliable personnel information would strengthen workforce planning, support timely decision-making and reduce delays associated with traditional administrative procedures.
