Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti has officially flagged off the First Phase of the Umuahia Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network Project, a service network initiative aimed at enhancing Internet connectivity across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The digital transformation initiative is expected to revolutionize governance, enhance Civil Service efficiency, and connect the State’s economy to the global digital space.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, held on Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Secretariat , Umuahia, Governor Otti emphasized the crucial role of technology in modern governance and economic development.
The Governor highlighted the need for Civil Servants to embrace digital tools and announced that ICT competency would soon become a requirement for career advancement in the State Civil Service.
He encouraged Abia Workers to upskill or risk stagnation and warned that operational inefficiency and resistance to technology would no longer be tolerated.
“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.
“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”Governor Otti emphasized.
The Governor reaffirmed that the State Government would not only make generous investment in IT systems infrastructure, but would also pay greater attention in the training and retraining of the personnel.
“Sufficient resources have already been earmarked for capacity building programmes. We want to achieve seamless deployment across all service institutions”, he said.
The Governor who noted that his administration is building a digitally-driven Civil Service, said the initiative would transform Abia’s civil service by improving accountability, eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks, and fostering a more result-oriented workforce.
He challenged Government officials and citizens to embrace digital transformation and see technology as a tool for growth, innovation, and economic prosperity.
The Governor said that the State partnered with ICT industry leader ipNX to lay fiber optic cables across Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia, with a five-week completion timeline for the initial phase.
He revealed that the long-term goal is to extend high-speed internet coverage to every community in Abia within the next nine months, and ensure seamless network access for businesses, traders, and artisans.
“Everything we do will ultimately be driven by technology. In the new Abia that we envision, traders, farmers, artisans and fabricators can interact and consummate businesses on virtual platforms.
“We may not be able to achieve everything in one day but the great news is that we have taken off and there will be no going back”, the Governor noted.
In his remarks, the Head of Service, Mr. Benson Ojeikere, described the initiative as a landmark achievement for civil servants, and commended Governor Otti for prioritizing the Civil Service in his transformational agenda.
Mr. Ojeikere emphasized that Abia Civil Servants would reciprocate the Governor’s commitment by working with a renewed sense of diligence, urgency, and integrity.
“We are actually going to reciprocate by moving the service to the next level beyond what has never been experienced in this country”, he said.
Also, the Group Managing Director of ipNX, Mr. Ejovi Aror, whose company is implementing the project, expressed gratitude to the Governor for allowing them to contribute to Abia’s digital advancement, noting that the partnership marks the beginning of a new era in the state’s journey toward technological and economic empowerment.
He said that the initiative will facilitate efficient service delivery, unlock economic potential, and ensure seamless productivity adding that ipNX is commitment to working closely with the Government to ensure the project’s success.
Contributing, the Chief Information Officer to the State Government, Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, highlighted that the first phase of the project focused on multi-tenant Government buildings with multiple MDAs.
Mr Ilukwe, assured that by the end of the service year, the entire Government Offices in Umuahia would be interconnected, to enable workers conduct operations more securely than traditional paper-based methods.
He said that the State Government would commence the next phase immediately after the completion of the current phase.
