By Ken Stanley

The new Head of Service (HoS) in Enugu State, Dr Godwin Anigbo, says all civil servants must switch to e-governance, digital platform usage and result-oriented work processes and ethics.

Anigbo disclosed this to newsmen at the weekend in Enugu shortly after addressing staff working directly under his office.

He said that in the era of disruptive innovation as envisioned by Gov. Peter Mbah, “all civil servants must migrate from paper to paperless services using real-time digital official communication platforms.”

According to him, all services to be rendered to the people will be digitalised, seamless and devoid of human contact as must as possible, only through a click of digital buttons.

The HoS said that the service in partnership with the state’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Centres have started training civil servants on computer usage and proficiency in batches.

He said that there were ongoing arrangements to ensure that each civil servant have a computer (whether office and personal) or alternatively smart cell-phones to use daily in the digital migration process.

Anigbo noted that the digital movement remained the only way for the state workforce to move at the digital speed of Gov. Mbah’s vision for the state.

“All these moves and other innovations are geared towards the goal of the state in moving from $4 billion to $30 billion economy within the next six years,” he said.

Anigbo said that the era of bureaucracy and seemingly delay in civil service system is gone, “as I will endear a civil service that is innovative, proactive, delivering on digital speed and thinking outside the box.”

“As it is, each civil servant must get prepare to move at the speed of the disruptive innovation of Gov. Peter Mbah by enabling government policies, programmes and projects under them.

“Every civil servant must contribute positively to ensure that government policies, programmes and projects are understood as well as make desired and measurable impact on the lives of the people of Enugu State,” he said.

He said that with his multi-sectoral experience, he would set-up time lines and measurable success for each arm of the civil service as well as civil servants serving within Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Anigbo noted that the welfare of the civil servants would be given top priority even as ways to improve incentives would be explored to act as motivation to “move and meet targets”.

“Everybody knows that His Excellency, Dr Peter Mbah, is only driven by result and he had continued to encourage civil servant by paying N80,000 as minimum wage and other welfare incentives.

“Coming from the private sector, I believe Gov. Mbah will do more once the service is productive and result-oriented to meet the state’s achievable targets,” he added.