Gov. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has said that the determination of his administration to ensure e- governance is a foregone issue as the state cannot afford to be left behind in the scheme of things in a changing world.
“We promised to move Kano to the next level and in doing so, we must be IT compliant. E-governance is the issue everywhere and we must adapt to this change so that our civil service can revolutionize service delivery”, the governor maintained.
Dr. Ganduje explained that his administration acknowledges the fact that “paperless administration” was one of the tools geared towards effective civil service delivery, hence the need for civil servants in the state to be IT savvy.
“This is to ensure that the civil service becomes a faster and more transparent entity. This will also help to save costs in terms of buying paper and other things”, he stated.
The governor made the assertion during the foundation laying of a multi million Naira Computer laboratory and Examination Center in Kano city, constructed as a Social Responsibility undertaking, by Credit Direct Ltd.
“You will recall that we promised to reform the civil service and we have started with the selection of new Permanent Secretaries. We gave them a working template. We are now moving to job enlightenment and training of our workers to enable them cope with ICT and other challenges of modernity”, he pointed out.
He, therefore, noted that the Computer laboratory and Examination Center would go long way in assisting the state government to attain its vision of ensuring a contemporary civil service.
Dr. Ganduje expressed appreciation to Credit Direct Ltd for embarking upon the project saying, “it is a very good legacy, not just a huge advertisement and we shall never forget you”. He urged other corporate entities to emulate the worthy example.
In his address, the state Head of Civil Service, Dr. Kabir Shehu said:”part of the priorities set by the present administration is utilization of ICT in all facets of government as the foundation for e-governance and best practice in the Civil Service”.
“The Center will be utilized for capacity building of Civil Servants, the conduct of the Civil Service Promotional Examination, various IT based programmes as well as a potential revenue institution for the state”, Dr. Shehu emphasized.
Earlier, the Managing Director, Credit Direct Ltd, Mr. Akinwande Ademosu, represented by Mr. Abiodun Adigun, said the project “is a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative to demonstrate our heartfelt appreciation for the warm welcome we received and the immense show of goodwill from the people of Kano state since we opened our office here about four years ago”.