The Edo State Geographic Information Service (EDOGIS) at the weekend earned the Most Prestigious Award of being the Best GIS in Nigeria, at the nation’s Federal Capital City, Abuja. The award was given by the Nigeria GovTech Public Service in recognition of EDOGIS as the Best State GIS in the country in 2024.
Recall that recently, more states of the federation, particularly from the South-East, have visited Edo State Geographic Information Service (EDOGIS) to understudy the Agency with a view to getting their own GIS right, the way Edo State has done.
Within a space of two months early this year, Cross River, Enugu, Anambra and Abia states, in quick succession, took their turns to come to EDOGIS to learn from the Agency, considered to be the Most – Structured in the South-South of Nigeria.
This followed the huge financial, technological and human capital investment of Governor Godwin Obaseki in EDOGIS.
On Monday, June 24, 2024 a 19-man delegation from the Anambra State Ministry of Lands led by the Permanent Secretary, Barr. (Mrs) Nkiruka Mokwe, was in Benin City to understudy EDOGIS; to learn and compare notes with the Agency officials on how best to get their acts right.
The next day, Tuesday, June 25, 2024 another 15-member delegation from Abia State, led by the Surveyor-General of the State, Surv. N.K.C Abaraonye took their turn to visit EDOGIS and to learn, first-hand, how the Agency has perfected its business and made land administration in the state seamless.
The Managing Director, EDOGIS, ESV. Osaro Grace Aihie, who conducted the teams round the offices, also painstakingly tutored them on the dynamics of the EDOGIS magic wand, leveraging on the template provided by His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Similarly, the six combined states in the Niger Delta, which make up the BRACED States (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Delta) during their three-day strategic retreat organized by the Heads of Service in the region in Benin City, Edo State, took a working visit to EDOGIS to assess the level of digitisation of the Agency’s operations and to seek ways of collaboration.
We recall too that on February 4, 2024 a GIS team from Enugu came; March 28, 2024, it was the turn of Cross River Geographic Information Agency (GIA); May 12, 2024 Abia Commissioner for Lands, Hon. Chaka Chukwumerijie visited to learn and take notes on the operations of the EDOGIS; June 24, 2024, Anambra Ministry of Lands and Survey delegation took their turn, while next day on June 25, Abia made a second visit, this time, led by the Surveyor-General of the State.
It must be noted that these series of visits by other GIS agencies were not mere coincidence.
They were the aftermath of the monumental and remarkable achievements of EDOGIS in terms of its seamless land administration based on the huge financial, technological and human capital investment of His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki in the operations of EDOGIS.
This has resulted in the Agency being declared and acknowledged as the “Best and Most Structured GIS not only in the South South of Nigeria”, but the Country as a whole.
At the end of the visits, the teams were full of commendation for Governor Obaseki and the MD of EDOGIS, ESV Osaro Grace Aihie, for the great reforms that made the Agency to stand out as the best in the South-South region and the country at large.