Emma Okonji
The Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology, the backbone driving the digital activities of the state government, has made public, its achievements in the last two years of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, while promising a digital economy for the state.
The government therefore urged the people of the state to key into the state’s technology initiatives, designed to enhance ease of doing businesses in the state.
The Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Olufemi Odubiyi , who reeled out the achievements of the state through the ministry, during a ministerial press briefing in Lagos recently, said the ministry has the mandate to initiate, formulate, execute, monitor and evaluate policies relating to science and technology, and was able to execute several technology projects that were of immense benefits to the people of Lagos.
Among the technology products, were the establishment of vehicle number plate and verification portal, citizens gate portal, job portal, computerisation of youth centre, and the creation of free public WiFi at parks and gardens around Lagos.
He said the citizen gate portal would facilitate interaction, communication and connectivity between the citizen and the state government.
He explained that the platform would afford citizens to enquire about government services, provide an avenue to make suggestions on government services for better confidence and trust in the present administration.
Odubiyi said the Lagos State Citizens Gate portal could be accessed via a web link citizensgate.lagosstate.gov.ng and a downloadable mobile App from Google play store and Apple store (Android and iOS).
He emphasised that the introduction of the portal would also improve the state budget, thus making planning a lot easier, preventing waste and encouraging savings that will assist in provision of more services and developments.
The Commissioner stressed that the initiative would enable government see through a one click report on dashboard, the performance of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the state, with performance indicators, bridging communication gap between the citizens and government.
With the creation of job portal, the state was able to recruit over 7,000 jobs for officers of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, artisans and other support staff in March this year. Aside the Safety Corps agency, the state was able to use the portal in recruiting several other jobs in other MDAs, Odubiyi said.
Speaking on free public Wi-Fi, Odubiyi said the state government had already provided free public Wi-Fi services in selected parks and gardens in the state, beginning with the recently launched internet access with free WiFi at Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Alausa, adding that the implementation of the services to other parks and gardens is on-going.
“These projects represent a move towards the vision of making Lagos a smart city and provides new ways for the public to enhance social leisure activities,” the Commissioner said.
He added that the government, through the Ministry of Science and Technology, provided a state-of-the-art Information Communication Technology (ICT) facility at Onikan Youth Centre to enhance youth development through e-learning and vocational studies.
Speaking on the new initiatives, Odubiyi said the state had approved the science, research and innovation policy, which was put together, using the National Science and Innovation Policy as a guide. According to him, the robust policy was designed to focus on using science, research and innovation to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the state.
