Obaseki emerges digital governor of the year

Nigeria’s major telecommunications companies under the aegis of the Association of Telecommunications Companies in Nigeria (ATCON) have named the immediate past Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, as Digital Governor of the Year.

The honour, according to the telecoms, is hinged on the transformative reforms in the state’s digital and technology space, which have revolutionised the state, propelling it to the forefront of digital innovation in governance in the country, while launching its people into the super digital highway.

The former governor will be conferred with the honour at the 31st Anniversary Celebration of ATCON to be held on Friday, December 6, 2024, in Lagos, by 06:00 p.m.

According to the President of ATCON, Tony Emoekpere, the former governor, among other achievements in the state’s digital and technology space, superintended the launch of the Edo State Digital Policy and the Edo Data Centre, which is the first data centre owned by a state in Nigeria.

His administration also transitioned the state’s public and civil service from an archaic, analogue system to a fully digitised and seamless operation. Today, Edo boasts as the most digitised civil and public service in Nigeria with all local councils connected via fibre optics.

Edo also made history as the first state in the country to have entirely shifted to a digital mode of administration, with a service-wide e-government platform that ensured that all government files were processed digitally, ensuring quicker turnaround times, and fostering a paperless work culture.