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Ondo State has launched Ondo AI, a new artificial intelligence platform built by SmartApps Limited to power a growing suite of government services, beginning with Ondo Pay, its Digital Human Resource Management, payroll and pension system.
The rollout positions the State to meet Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) under the World Bank’s HOPE-GO programme, where demonstrable automation and transparency in public financial and human resource management are core conditions for continued support.
Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa launched the platform on 24 September 2026 at the Cocoa Conference Hall, Governor’s Office, Akure, describing it as a move to replace analogue processes with a technology-driven public service that is more efficient, transparent and responsive.
He said information and data have become indispensable to effective administration, with speed and accuracy now defining the quality of government decisions.
“We cannot expect the 21st-century public service to operate an analogue system indefinitely.”
The Governor said leadership is fundamentally about decision-making, and that the accuracy of information determines whether government decisions succeed or fail. He cautioned officers responsible for the platform that its value depends entirely on the integrity of the data entered into it, and urged public servants to embrace the change despite the adjustments reform inevitably brings.
In his remarks, the Head of Service, Chief Segun Odusanya, said Ondo Pay, running on the Ondo AI platform, would strengthen personnel records, support workforce planning and give management a comprehensive view of the State’s workforce, including deployment, competencies and career progression, while urging officers to safeguard the accuracy, confidentiality and security of the data they handle.
Demonstrating the platform, the Managing Director of SmartApps Limited, Mr. Godwin Odoma, said Ondo Pay; the first service deployed on Ondo AI, automates civil service administration, payroll management, retirement processing and pension migration, giving authorised officials instant access to comprehensive personnel records, including appointment details, promotions, academic qualifications and disciplinary history.
He said the system automatically flags workers approaching retirement and closes the gap between active service and pension, while its mobile self-service application lets civil servants check their exact retirement date and access monthly payslips directly from their phones.
Odoma noted that this level of automation is precisely what has positioned Ondo State to meet the Disbursement Linked Indicators required under the World Bank’s HOPE-GO programme, where demonstrable automation and transparency in personnel and payroll management are key conditions for continued support. He described Ondo Pay as the first of several government services expected to run on the Ondo AI platform, as the State builds out a shared intelligence layer across its public institutions.
The launch builds on Ondo State’s wider digitisation drive, which has already delivered ₦9.7 billion in pensions and gratuities to 2,802 beneficiaries through Ondo Pay’s payroll and pension migration functions, and now extends automation across the full personnel lifecycle, from onboarding to retirement, with Ondo AI positioned to carry that same automation into other areas of government over time.
Civil servants can access the Ondo Pay self-service app via the Google Play Store or by scanning the on-site QR code, using their CS number to log in.
Ondo AI is an artificial intelligence platform deployed by the Ondo State Government and built by SmartApps Limited to power a growing suite of government services. Its first deployment, Ondo Pay, is a Digital Human Resource Management, payroll and pension system that automates personnel administration, retirement processing and pension migration, and includes a mobile self-service application through which civil servants can access payslips, track retirement timelines and manage personal records.
