L-R: The Representative of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri and DG, BPRS, Dasuki Arabi present the Distinguished GovTech Trailblazer Award won by the GCEO NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, to NNPC Ltd’s Chief Technology Officer, Olakunle Osobu recently. Standing first from right is the Head, Relationship & Stakeholder Management of the Company, Iyabode Ayobami-Ojo.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, emerged winners in the 2023 Nigeria GovTech Awards for exceptional service delivery in the public sector.
While the National Oil Company won the Best Federal MDA in Digital Initiatives in Reengineering Government Processes Award, Kyari went home with the “Distinguished GovTech Trailblazer Award.”
Organisers said the awards were in recognition of Kyari leadership’s proactive steps in activating the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) hinged on digital automation of the company’s processes.
“The single, sure-footed act of automation, emplaced to, among others, mitigate the effects of COVID-19, has brought about efficiency, high performance, and sustenance of the NNPC Ltd’s operations post-pandemic, for which the GCEO is now referred to as “Mr. Automation” in the industry,” the NNPC Ltd said in a statement by its spokesperson, Demi Soneye, in reaction to the awards.
“Significantly, the GCEO, through the NNPC IT Division, automated Key Performance Indicator Dashboard across the entire IT Enterprise and Architecture, thereby improving reporting efficiency real-time performance tracking.
“Kyari also activated Microsoft Enterprise Additional Licenses for NNPC Digital Transformation initiatives, leading to an estimated cost-saving of over $1 million to the Company,” Soneye added.
The Nigeria GovTech Awards by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), an agency under the Presidency, had the theme “Advancing Public Service Reforms Through Digital Transformation.”
The event was in aid of federal government’s initiative designed to bring governments at the federal, state, local levels, and actors in the technology industry together to discuss and identify new ways and emerging trends in which ICT could be used to transform public service and improve the general well-being of Nigerians.
In clinching the award, the NNPC Ltd. and its GCEO beat several other contestants in the public sector based on the BPSR selection process, which was anchored on merit, thus strengthening the credibility of the selection process and the subsequent awards.
The DG of BPSR, Dasuki Arabi, commended Kyari’s deployment of technology in driving business at the NNPC Ltd, in addition to his exemplary leadership in advancing GovTech initiatives and digital governance within the nation’s oil conglomerate, in line with the Federal Government digital transformation in the public sector.
Prior to the presentation of the awards, Arabi said in a letter dated 19th September 2023 to the NNPC Ltd’s GCEO that the award followed a nationwide nomination and online voting process initiated on Radio, Television and Newspaper publication.
“We are pleased to inform you that your organisation will be honoured with the prestigious Nigeria GovTech Award in the category of ‘Best Federal: MDA in digital initiatives in reengineering government processes,” the letter said.
Arabi had also said that the awards represented a veritable platform aimed at repositioning the Nigerian public service as an engine of reforms in the country.
