Abia State governor, Alex Otti, said he plans to put in place an innovation and technology-driven civil service fit for the demands of the 21st century in the state.

Mr Otti made this pledge while receiving a delegation of the British High Commission to Nigeria at his Nvosi country home in the Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State.

The delegation was led by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery.

The governor said that he was doing his best in the civil service sector to prepare the workforce for the future.

Mr Otti, who said Abia people were highly innovative, energetic and industrious, thanked the British high commissioner for funding the training of more than 500 Abia civil servants on digital skills.

He said, “We are very happy to receive you; we thank you for making the decision to come. We want a civil service that is ready for the future, ready for technology and ready for innovations.’’

Mr Otti said he has been de-risking Abia’s business environment in the past 14 months for full private -sector participation through provision of power, road infrastructure, security, among other basic needs.

He said, “We came prepared with some solutions in terms of strategies; we have put a lot of things together. For us, governance is about the welfare of the people; it is about making the people happy and that is why we support the private sector.’’

The governor said that the South-East governors were collaborating to take advantage of regional integration for the overall development of the region.

He said the South-East Governors Forum was thinking towards regional railway lines to promote trade and other economic activities.

Earlier, Montgomery commended the significant improvement in resource management, digital compliant civil service and improved infrastructure recorded under Mr Otti within 14 months in office.

Montgomery, who is also the UK Permanent representative for the Economic Community of West African States, assured of partnering with Abia in the digital space.

He also said the British High Commission was ready to partner with the state government in areas of trade, energy, transportation, technology, manufacturing and other areas of interest for job creation.

The event was attended by the Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service, several commissioners and other government appointees including the graduands of the digital training.

(NAN)