The Ondo State Government has launched an Artificial Intelligence-enabled Human Resources and Payroll Platform, known as Ondo Pay, as part of efforts to modernise the state’s civil service and replace cumbersome manual processes with a centralised digital system.

The platform, launched in Akure on September 2, 2026, is designed to automate key aspects of workforce administration, including personnel management, salary processing, payroll administration and the migration of retiring officers to pension payment.

The initiative is being implemented under the administration of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, with the government describing it as part of its broader drive to promote technology-driven governance, improve accountability and make public service delivery more efficient.

According to information released on the platform, Ondo Pay brings employee records, salary computation, approvals, reporting, payroll processing and pension migration into a secure, centralised environment.

The system also features a mobile self-service application that enables authorised civil servants to access their payslips, view salary and deduction details, update permitted personal information, submit requests and receive payroll notifications without having to repeatedly visit government offices.

Speaking at the launch, the Ondo State Head of Service, Chief Segun Odusanya, said reliable information and personnel records were essential to effective governance.

He said the digital system would provide a stronger foundation for personnel management, improve workforce planning and facilitate faster decision-making while reducing delays associated with traditional administrative procedures.

Odusanya urged Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments, personnel officers and other stakeholders to ensure that the platform is properly implemented and maintained.

He also stressed the need for accuracy, confidentiality, security and professionalism in handling personnel information.

The Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Omowumi Isaac, said the integration of self-service tools, payroll controls and auditable workflows would strengthen accountability in the management of public funds.

The platform uses controlled access and authentication, while the integration of Bank Verification Number information is expected to strengthen verification and help the government detect duplicate or non-genuine records and unauthorised payments.

The digital system is also expected to provide government with more accurate and up-to-date workforce data for budgeting, wage-bill management, workforce planning and policy decisions.

A major component of the digital transformation is the migration and management of pension records. The government says the system will help streamline the identification, verification and processing of retirement benefits.

The development comes amid ongoing efforts by the Aiyedatiwa administration to address outstanding gratuity obligations.

On September 2, the governor flagged off the payment of ₦3.82 billion in gratuities to 985 retirees. The beneficiaries included 509 retirees from the 2020 batch and 476 outstanding beneficiaries from the 2015–2019 batches, covering the mainstream civil service, secondary school teaching and non-teaching staff, and state parastatals.

A subsequent report by Nairametrics said Ondo Pay had facilitated the processing of ₦9.699 billion in pensions and gratuities to 2,802 beneficiaries since its deployment, although that figure was reported by the platform's implementation partners rather than independently audited in the report.

The government says the broader objective of Ondo Pay is to create a single source of reliable personnel, payroll and pension information, thereby reducing paperwork, manual calculations and administrative delays.

For civil servants, the platform is expected to make payroll information more accessible and speed up the resolution of personnel-related complaints and requests.

For the state government, the system is intended to strengthen expenditure control, improve the integrity of personnel records and support evidence-based decisions on workforce deployment and resource allocation.

The launch represents another step in Ondo State's ongoing digitalisation of public administration, with the government seeking to move key civil service processes from paper-based and manual procedures to a technology-driven system.