Obaseki: Governance in Edo is fully digitalised — civil servants no longer carry files

Godwin Obaseki, outgoing governor of Edo, says he has fully digitalised governance and the civil service in the state.

Obaseki, who was inaugurated in 2016, would hand over to Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on November 12. 

Answering questions from select editors in Lagos, the governor said his first task upon assumption of office was to make corruption unattractive by digitalising government business and operations.

He said restoring integrity and credibility to the civil service was also an imperative. 

“The engine of government’s vehicle is the civil service. If the engine is faulty, the vehicle won’t work. The owners of the government are the civil servants,” he said. 

“One of the things we did was restore respect, credibility to the civil service. Today, you would want to be a civil servant in Edo. Their offices are about the best workplaces. They have 24/7 electricity, high speed internet.

“We’ve gone digital. No file gets missing in Edo. Civil servants don’t carry files. We train them through the John Odigie Oyegun Training Centre. There is now a sense of belonging and pride in the civil service. 

“Certainty after work is so important. If Nigeria is going to move forward, we must rebuild the civil service. 

“I don’t treat files manually again. Everything is on e-gov. You can’t participate in this new world by being analogue. If the society is going to digitalise, you start from government.”

Obaseki said his government erected fibre optic cables to provide an efficient internet backbone for the civil service.

According to the governor, teachers were also handed tablets to make pedagogy and learning easier.  

“Each teacher in Edo has a tablet. Everyday you come to school, you must synchronise with that of the headteacher. If you don’t, that means you did not come to school that day,” he said.

“So we dropped the rate of absenteeism in our state. The device takes attendance of students. They also use it for lesson notes.

“We invested in fibre optic cables and connections. We are the most connected state in Nigeria today. We have over 2,000 kilometres of fibre. Every local government is connected. Once government takes the lead, everyone would follow.”

Obaseki said Edo used to be infamous for human trafficking and irregular migration which made the state the butt of jokes.

“When I came in 2016, one of the biggest issues confronting us was human trafficking and irregular migration,” he added. 

“Comedians used to make jokes about us and ask the audience: ‘What is the capital of Italy?’ They would say ‘Edo’.

“So, we had to tackle that through the EdoBEST initiative which ensures that we don’t have dropouts anymore. By the time the children get to JS3, they can learn a vocation or trade if they do not want to continue with formal education.

“There was so much absenteeism in the teaching department. We retrained teachers to be able to teach. Our teachers make school exciting.

“Today, nobody is travelling out of Edo. If anything, people are now trooping into the state because we have created an enabling environment and grown the economy of the state in the last eight years.”

Obaseki said his administration has transformed the agricultural sector by focusing on mechanised, large-scale farming and partnering with the private sector. 

“Edo is the home of oil palm. We brought modern farming into Edo. We built roads to farms. We have one of the most ambitious programmes on agriculture on the continent,” he said.  

“We brought in big players who have capital, who are ready to work with smallholders. We are using oil palm to kick start the agricultural revolution in Edo.”