President Bola Tinubu has expressed support for partnerships with global technology companies to ensure that data from public institutions are accurate and transparent in providing templates for public sector planning and accounting.

A statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said Tinubu stated this on Monday at a meeting with Mr Andres Arroyo, Global Vice President of Oracle, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The President acknowledged Oracle commitment to Nigeria’s civil service reform process and data management sector, adding that there is the need for greater knowledge transfer through the establishment of academies and training institutions in the country.

He said the government aimed to promote the ease of doing business, digital innovation, effective identity management, efficient payroll administration and qualitative citizen-centred service delivery.

The President cited Oracle’s proven success in the automation of the Lagos State payroll system and lauded the positive impact of technological solutions in enhancing accountability, and expediting timelines for service delivery without sacrificing quality.

“I have tested Oracle, and it has worked for our success. In Lagos State, what we did in effective collaboration with you has been copied across the states of the Federation. We can only build our institutions with accurate data and cutting-edge data management capabilities that are reliable and effective.

‘’We can only rely upon our human resources for excellent service delivery to Nigerians, if they are well trained and ready to learn. The transfer of knowledge is essential for our nation and the continent.

‘’In this government, we believe that the only way to build our country is a bottom-up-approach and from one single sheet of paper, we can create an end-to-end solution for public administration that will rid our service of its worst tendencies in favour of effectiveness and reliability,” the President said.

Tinubu decried the country’s bloated civil service payroll at the national and sub-national levels, saying: “Each time they give me the payroll number, I get so frightened. Where am I going to get the capital to develop the infrastructure we desperately require if the payroll of 1% – 2% of the population is consuming all the revenue?

‘’I think we need a tight technological control that can check and balance all necessary control points of our transaction processes. I’m looking forward to working with Oracle because I have the belief and confidence that you can do it as you have in the past.”

In his remarks, Arroyo proposed a comprehensive digital transformation of work process at the federal level of administration.

Arroyo said this would bring about greater macro-economic visibility, streamline government processes for cost and time savings and provide the desired skills development opportunities.

“You have shown tremendous practical leadership throughout your career, Mr President. We have partnered with you, and we know how determined you are to achieve all that you set out to achieve.

‘’This is why we are offering Nigeria a free national diagnostic of the present situation in the public service with a view to dimensioning across sectors the scale of solution required. We look forward to partnering with you again,” Arroyo said.