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| IBM and EKSG 1Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, with State officials and the IBM Team of ICT Experts during a working visit to the Governors office in Ado-Ekiti on Monday. |
Ekiti State Government and world info-technology giant, International Business Machines(IBM) have started a partnership that is aimed at strengthening and actualising the goals of the State Government in the Information Communication Technology sector and e-governance.
In the new arrangement, IBM team of experts in different fields who arrived in the state over the weekend, would work with Ekiti State officials in different sectors of the state for the next one month.
In a press conference jointly addressed by the representatives of Ekiti State Government and the IBM team leaders in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Mr. Foluso Daramola said the IBM team will be working with the State Government, the State University and the Civil Society on areas such as Smart Governance, Citizen Information Management System and the e-school projects.
Daramola who spoke on behalf of the State Government said the partnership is also targeted at actualising IBM’s New Initiative for Sustainable Development (NISD) through effective use of ICT in the state.
The Permanent Secretary added that the partnership will examine the functionality of the software applications provided by Microsoft and the hardware by Samsung as well as develop online citizens register for the Social welfare programme for the elderly citizens above 65 years old.
The communication and work flow Automation developed under Smart Governance applications, he said, will establish an inter-governmental paperless system for all official documents.
In her remarks, IBM’s West African Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Lead, Mrs Remi Abere said the company will be assisting Ekiti State in working on e-education and e-governance by transferring the company’s skills and helping develop technological capacity in the different sectors of government.
Abere said special focus will be given to the education sector because of the passion of the administration to revamp the sector and make it take its lead.
She said IBM chose Ekiti for the partnership in view of current efforts by the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration to drive development through technology.
