WEDNESDAY February 26, 2025 |TheNewsDESK
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Newly sworn-in Commissioner for Science and Digital Economy, Dr. Frank Ekpenyong, said he has set an ambitious goal to make Akwa Ibom the number one state in e-governance and digital economy, Vanguard reports.
This vision aligns with Governor Umo Eno’s ARISE Agenda, which aims to transform the state’s governance and economy through digital innovation.
During his first visit to the Ministry, Dr. Ekpenyong emphasized the critical role the Ministry will play in achieving this goal.
He was met by Permanent Secretary Dr. Friday Ido and top officials, who shared his enthusiasm for the future.
Noting that the visit was not a formal resumption, Dr. Ekpenyong expressed his desire to get a first-hand view of the Ministry’s facilities and assess their potential for driving digital transformation.
Dr. Ekpenyong views the current facilities at the Ministry as “low-hanging fruit” that can be leveraged to showcase Governor Eno’s vision of offering social services digitally, even in rural areas. By harnessing these resources, the Ministry aims to create a more efficient, transparent, and citizen-centric governance system.
According to him “ I felt it was necessary to come here this morning to have a first-hand view of the facilities. This is not a formal visit but a quick tour of the facilities. I believe this Ministry gives us an opportunity to showcase our Governor’s ambition to offer social services digitally. We would exploit and take advantage of what we have here. The objective is simple: to ensure that Akwa Ibom becomes the hub of e-governance in Nigeria.
“We have seen some of the things done through the direction of the Governor, for example, the bursary scheme, MSME portal, the Employment portal, even civil service verification, so if we are going to deliver our services, we would need a really sound staff, I will encourage everyone that there is need for a new mindset when we meet, we would make everyone understand what the ambition of His Excellency is and how we intend to go about things.”
“Today was to understand what is on the ground, understand the barriers; we have seen quite a lot of it, but thankfully, we have seen low-hanging fruits that we can exploit. I must add that I came here with a strong team because most of you who follow what we do will recall that I was the SSA to the Governor on ICT & Digital Services, and I had to build a strong team to deliver His Excellency’s directives. So, I will try to make the Governor understand that we need that team here to support the work we would be doing.
“Civil servants are core in whatever we want to do, so we would work with you to make sure we achieve our set goals. The era of just coming to work and not doing anything is behind us, everybody has to show value, everybody has to show workings as they say, every staff here has to be ICT compliant, you are going to be the best and act as the support staff for all the government agencies, so I am excited at the journey ahead.”
“The Governor’s ambition is huge. You need to just look at the ARISE Agenda. This is the ministry that every other ministry would have to rely on, whether we like it or not. Humanitarian, Labour, Agriculture, and Education, for example, have to talk to us. When I come back, we will sit down and share the plan. Please be open-minded and ready to work.
In his own remarks, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Digital Economy, Dr. Friday Ido, welcomed the new Commissioner and his team, stating that his arrival “is an answered prayer.”
In his words, “We believe that you have come so that the glory of the Ministry would be restored and surpassed. “ He then assured the new Commissioner that all the staff would give him the maximum support to succeed.
Our goal Is To Make Akwa Ibom Foremost In e-governance — Frank Ekpenyong
