Anambra State Government Bets Big On Digital Transformation As Governor Soludo’s Second Tenure Gathers Momentum

By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief

In line with its deliberate and intentional plan to transform Anambra State and improve the lives and livelihoods of Ndi-Anambra,  the Professor Charles Chukwu Soludo Administration is doubling down on the gains recorded in his digital transformation agenda in his first tenure even as the second tenure picks steam.

Presently, the Anambra State Government , through the Anambra  State ICT Agency , is leveraging technology, especially Artificial Intelligence(AI), in automating its systems ‘end-to-end’  with the aim of driving greater efficiency and effectiveness into its governance architecture.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer(MD/CEO) of the Agency, Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr., said  this Thursday during a  partnership renewal exchange with technology reporters, over Google Meet, wherein he showed appreciation to the media for their support to the government  in its first tenure even while soliciting stronger ties between the Anambra State Government and  the media, especially those covering information and communication technology(ICT), in its evolving digital transformation agenda.

Mr. Agbata Jnr., told the journalists that his agency had begun the deployment of a locally trained artificial intelligence system to automate its operations and explore the application of AI in governance, revenue management and public-sector productivity, among other areas.

Agbata said the AI initiative was part of the Agency’s broader strategy to build on the gains recorded during his first tenure, while assuring greater emphasis  would be placed on leveraging emerging technologies to accelerate  the pace of development  in the state.

Agbata, who praised the newshounds for their input in the state’s digital transformation story, explained that the Agency did not develop a frontier large language model(LLM) from scratch, given the huge computing and financial outlay, but rather chose an open-source model , which it tweaked and trained locally for specific use cases.

According to him, the first major application of the technology has been the automation of the Agency’s internal processes. “We have started doing our own local AI system. It is an open-source system, so we didn’t build our own frontier model. We basically looked at open source and modified it, and we are training it,” Agbata said.

He added that the system had already been deployed to automate the Agency’s operations end-to-end, saying the experience  validated how AI could be adapted to improve government processes.

The Anambra ICT Agency  MD/CEO stated that the Agency was now exploring how the model could be replicated across other areas of government, particularly in improving productivity, addressing revenue leakages and strengthening governance.

Responding to questions from the newshounds, the ASICTA Boss said the experience had already produced a visible improvement in productivity within the Agency, adding that the immediate objective was to demonstrate practical, locally-relevant applications of AI rather than pursuing technology development for its own sake.

Sharing a glimpse into his second tenure or what he coined as ASICTA 2.0, Agbata  recalled that when Professor Soludo informed him of his reappointment, he asked him what would be different in his second tenure?

Responding to his boss, Agbata narrated he was going to build on existing achievements in infrastructure, capacity development, e-governance and smart government, while introducing stronger emphasis on AI-driven development.

He pivoted the Agency’s recognition at the National Council on Innovation and Digital Economy to its work in smart government, noting that the experience had reinforced the importance of deploying technology to solve practical governance challenges.

Agbata also pledged to deepen engagement with the media and other stakeholders to ensure that the gains made in Anambra were shared with his colleagues in the south east, specifically and across the federation, in general.

Responding to questions on the status of the state’s free public Wi-Fi (Solution Wi-Fi)and insinuations the initiative was a campaign gimmick, Agbata clarified that the state’s free public Wi-Fi initiative was not introduced as a campaign project, stressing that the programme predated the electioneering period.

According to him, the Agency’s new phase would focus on “how we drive development, leveraging AI and other infrastructure,” with the goal of extending the benefits of digital transformation beyond the ICT sector.

Solution Wi-Fi

Agbata also clarified that the state’s free public Wi-Fi initiative was not introduced as a campaign project, stressing that the programme predated the electioneering period. He explained that the strategy was only adjusted during the campaigns to enable residents follow the governor’s activities and participate in live engagements while on the move.

 “The free Wi-Fi didn’t start as a political thing, a campaign thing. It started way  back before the campaigns,” he said. According to him, the initiative was conceived as part of the state government’s broader technology agenda, particularly the objective of ensuring that residents could access the internet for business, education and other everyday activities.

He confirmed that the existing Wi-Fi locations remained operational, including facilities at the state secretariat,  inspite of occasional downtimes, particularly during periods of adverse weather. He added however, there were currently no plans to establish additional Wi-Fi locations.

Cyber Era NG specifically asked Agbata to share plans of the state government to latch in on the Buy Nigeria policy by patronizing more local OEMS in the procurement of ICT devices.  “We in Anambra State have since bought into the policy,” he said, citing the procurement of thousands of laptops from Zinox Technologies as evidence of the governments’ persuasion.

On going paperless, Agbata stated this was work in progress but assured that by the time Soludo’s second tenure rounded off, all ministries, departments and agencies, should have been digitized.  

E-attended by nearly 20 ICT journalists, the virtual meeting was moderated by the Communications and Public Engagement Lead at ASICTA, Angela Nwanodu.