Speaking at a meeting with the Global Vice President of Oracle, Andres Garcia Arroyo, in Abuja, the President welcomed the company’s commitment to Nigeria’s civil service reform and data management sector, even as he emphasised the need for greater knowledge transfer through establishment of academies and training institutions in the country.

Aiming to promote the ease of doing business, digital innovation, effective identity management, efficient payroll administration and qualitative citizen-centred service delivery, Tinubu cited Oracle’s success in the automation of Lagos payroll system to enhance accountability and expedite timelines for service delivery without sacrificing quality during his tenure as governor

On the bloated civil service payroll at the national and sub-national levels, the Nigerian leader stated: “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 one to two per cent 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, the visitor proposed a comprehensive digital transformation of jobs at the federal level to achieve greater macro-economic visibility, streamline government processes for cost and time savings, and to provide the desired skills development opportunities for Nigerians.