The Ondo State Government has launched a digital Human Resource (HR) Management System and automated pension migration platform to streamline payroll administration and ease the transition of retiring workers from active service to pension.
Segun Odusanya, the state Head of Service, said at the launch on Wednesday in Akure that the initiative would reduce errors associated with manual salary and pension processes while improving workers’ access to personnel information and services.
Odusanya said the digital HR platform would provide a centralised and verifiable database of government employees, improve the processing and tracking of personnel records and support workforce planning.
He said the system would also provide the government with better information on workers’ deployment, professional competencies and career progression, helping to identify areas requiring capacity development.
“The increasing complexity of government operations has made it necessary to move from largely manual personnel administration to a digital system capable of providing timely, accurate and accessible information,” he said.
The Head of Service urged civil servants across all cadres to embrace the transition, saying its success would require cooperation and willingness to acquire new skills.
He also tasked permanent secretaries, directors and personnel officers with providing leadership for effective implementation of the system.
Geoffrey Dashe, Head of Sales at SmartApps IT Ltd, the technical partner, said the platform would allow workers to access payroll information, including payslips, from their homes.
Dashe said salaries could be processed within a day once funds were available, while the integration of payroll with Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and biometric verification through facial recognition and fingerprints would help ensure salaries were paid to the right employees.
He said the digital system had also introduced an automated pension migration application to reduce reliance on manual documentation when workers retire.
“The digital platform will enable civil servants to access their payslips and employment information from their homes, thereby reducing queues and unnecessary visits to government offices,” Dashe said.
Peter Akingbade, Permanent Secretary of the Pension Transition Office, said the automated pension system would help eliminate delays, lost files and repetitive paperwork previously experienced by retirees.
Akingbade said digitisation would ensure pension records were securely stored and readily accessible, adding that the office would work to ensure legitimate pensioners were not left behind in the transition.
Segun Orisabinueni, the state Accountant-General, described the digital payroll system as a welcome development that would give workers greater control over their salary information.
