Ondo State Government has launched Ondo Pay, an AI-powered digital platform designed to migrate civil service pension records into a centralised environment.
The platform integrates salary computation, approvals, reporting, and payroll processing into a single secure system. It was unveiled during a launch event in Akure on 2 September 2026.
The transition from paper-based records to an AI-enabled system aims to strengthen payroll and pension integrity across the state’s workforce. By removing manual processes, the government intends to eliminate the errors and delays often associated with legacy filing systems.
Ondo Pay is expected to provide a real-time view of pension liabilities and streamline the verification process for retirees. The platform’s AI capabilities are intended to assist in the identification of anomalies within payroll data, reducing the risk of fraudulent claims.
The digitalisation effort comes as part of a broader push to modernize public financial management in the state. Moving records into a digital format allows for faster audits and more accurate budgeting for personnel costs.
Reducing Payroll Leakage and Administrative Bottlenecks
Manual pension administration in Nigeria has historically been prone to the “ghost worker” phenomenon, where deceased or non-existent employees continue to draw salaries and pensions. Centralised digital databases are the primary tool used by state governments to curb this leakage.
The automation of payroll through Ondo Pay reduces the human intervention required for salary computation and approval, which are common points of failure in public finance administration.
Beyond fraud prevention, the system addresses the logistical challenges faced by pensioners who previously had to provide physical documentation to prove their eligibility. Digital records allow for faster validation and a more seamless payout process.
This shift aligns with the digital transformation goals often encouraged by the World Bank’s GovTech initiatives, which promote the use of technology to improve the delivery of government services and enhance fiscal transparency.
The integration of AI into the payroll process suggests a move toward predictive analytics, potentially allowing the state to forecast future pension obligations with greater precision based on current employee demographics and retirement timelines.
The implementation of Ondo Pay follows previous attempts by various Nigerian states to clean up their payrolls using biometric verification. However, the addition of an AI-driven centralised environment marks a move toward a more proactive, rather than reactive, management of public funds.
The state government has indicated that the migration of all legacy paper records into the new system will be a phased process. This involves the digitisation of thousands of physical files to ensure no eligible retiree is omitted from the new database.
The next phase of the rollout involves training civil service administrators and pension board officials to manage the platform and handle technical troubleshooting.
Officials have stated that the system will be subject to regular security audits to protect the sensitive personal and financial data of civil servants and retirees.
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