The Federal Government has said that e-governance is essential for public sector productivity and efficiency.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Senator Omotayo Alasoadura, stated this when he flagged off the “Nigeria Public Sector Productivity and Innovation Summit”, in Abuja.
He said that Government had made progress in providing essential and social services to the people, using electronic and digital tools and processes.
The Minister of State noted that the use of e-governance “has made public service delivery far more effective and efficient, and thereby pumping out remarkable Public Sector productivity.
“Deployingsuch technologies that meet today’s needs and anticipates the future, has brought government closer to the people, especially those who equally have proficiency in the use of information and communication technology”.
The Minister of State however said government needed to be proactive in adopting new technologies to enable it deliver effectively its monitoring, regulatory and oversight responsibilities over the private sector.
It would be unimaginable for government to regulate banks and other businesses with technology-oriented business models if government lacked the necessary technology scope, he added.
He said that although most of the development in technology “are focused on the private sector, the public sector should not be left behind”, as thegovernment has the responsibility of developing and implementing rule-based policies for the private sector to thrive.
According to him, “The essence of the summit is to highlight how these enabling technologies are transforming government productivity and creating the market for new skills, knowledge and jobs in a complementary way, through which government institutions have been able to do more with less while delivering greater output with desirable speed and precision”.
Alasoadura enjoined the participants to make maximum use of their time at the Summit, and multiply their productivity at their respective duty posts with the e-Government tools acquired, for greater national productivity and growth.
In his address, Director-General, National Productivity Centre (NPC), Dr Kashim Akor, said that e-Governance had contributed immensely to public sector productivity in Nigeria.
He noted that Government has been driving productivity, efficiency and transparency using such e-Government deliverables as Treasury Single Account driven by Remita, and Bank Verification Number (BVN), among others.
Dr. Akor further observed that conducting government business online has remarkably cut cost, time and logistics for all stakeholders.
The Director General stated that the Summit, organised by the National Productivity Centre in collaboration with Leadership and Performance Ethics Management Consult, with the theme: “Leveraging e-Government as a Vehicle for Increasing Productivity and Improving Public Service Delivery”, would highlight the relationship between e-Government and Productivity in Nigeria.