Governor Olusegun Mimiko who was speaking yesterday at the maiden edition of Ondo State Council on Information organized by the State Ministry of Information, said he had already informed the Head of Service to ensure that all civil servants in the state meet the deadline.
The governor who emphasized the importance of ICT to governance and development, urged civil servants to move with the trend of the technological revolution going on across the globe.
According to the Governor who backed up the directive of Commissioner for Information, Mr Ranti Akerele, that all workers in his ministry should acquire laptops within three months or face consequences of being forced out, it has become a matter of policy in the state Civil Service.
Mimiko stated that much as his administration was committed to bringing about rapid socio-economic transformation of the state, he could not afford to continue to work with outdated hands which he said could slow down the speed of service delivery.
His words: “If you are not computer literate or ICT compliant before December 31st, you should be prepared to tender your letter of resignation. This is a priority statement. The truth of the matter is that if you are not abreast of the new trend or move along with the new technology you will be rendered redundant in the scheme of things.
“If you are not used to this, maybe you are not living. It is important that we know the power of communication and have the necessary tools to be able to move with the modern challenge.”
Speaking on the essence of the event, Mimiko applauded the initiative of the state Ministry of Information, saying it became pertinent that communication management be integrated in the state information system from information officers at the local government level to the Commissioner for Information.
Mimiko who said if information was well managed could do a lot of good to the state and when badly managed could cause a lot of harms to the society, urged stakeholders in the state media to help create and sustain linkages between government and the people through the power which he said was embedded in communication.
“We want to bring about a new paradigm of development that involves the people. In Ondo State, our greatest asset is the social capital that we have brought on board and for us to maintain that social capital there must be regular communication.
“That is why people must be involved to fill that gap that has been created. There is a disconnection between the governed and the government and we have to bridge that gap so that people can stop referring to government as 'they'.
“To be able to do this effectively, there must be effective communication while the government plays its roles and responsibilities to the people,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Commissioner for Information, Mr Ranti Akerele, noted the challenges which media professionals were faced with in the industry which he said were evident in knowledge extinction, called for update of knowledge to be able to align with emerging trend in the world of communication.
Akerele said the event which drew participants from across all the media organizations in the state, both print and electronics, was aimed at highlighting the emerging trends in information management system and to undertake a critical review of the new media and its implication for information management in Ondo State.
The General Manager, Positive FM, Mr Wale Adeboboye, while delivering a paper at the occasion, called on the state government to empower workers in its Civil Service by providing laptops and other logistics to complement its training programmes.
Source: Sunshine Daily Watch
