Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
Ekiti State’s long-standing reputation as Nigeria’s centre of educational excellence has earned it the opportunity to become one of the pioneer states to implement the federal government’s National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode Project, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has said.
The governor said the Nigerian Postal Service’s decision to select Ekiti for the pilot phase of the nationwide digital addressing programme recognised the state’s intellectual strength, digital readiness, and commitment to innovation-driven governance.
Speaking at the stakeholder engagement and inception workshop on the macro ground-truthing of the National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode and Enterprise Addressing Management System in Ado-Ekiti, Oyebanji, who was represented by the programme’s focal person, Olusanmi Akintobi, described the initiative as another milestone in Ekiti’s transformation into a knowledge-based digital economy.
He said the project would modernise public administration, improve service delivery and create a reliable digital addressing infrastructure capable of supporting education, research, innovation, investment and economic growth. According to him, the existing postcode system has become inadequate because it grouped thousands of properties under a single code, making it difficult for emergency responders, businesses, government agencies and residents to identify precise locations.
“The Digital Postcode is the foundation upon which modern digital services thrive. Every digital service begins with a verifiable address. This project will unlock innovation and further position Ekiti as a leading digital economy,” he said.
The governor commended NIPOST for choosing Ekiti as a pioneer state and praised the Ekiti State Data Centre for providing the technical support that made the partnership possible. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the initiative through sustained political support, investment in digital infrastructure and institutional reforms designed to strengthen land administration and digital governance.
Oyebanji listed the expected gains as faster emergency response, improved urban planning, efficient tax administration, social protection, poverty mapping, electoral logistics, geo-marketing, and expanded digital economic opportunities.
Earlier, the Postmaster-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Tola Odeyemi, represented by Abdulwakil Jamiu, said Ekiti was deliberately selected as a pioneer state because of its widely acknowledged record in educational advancement, intellectual development and progressive governance.
She described the Digital Alphanumeric Postcode Project as a transformative national infrastructure that would redefine how Nigerians access government services, conduct business and participate in the digital economy. According to her, the nationwide rollout began on October 1, 2026, following Federal Executive Council approval, with Ekiti among the first states to implement it because of its readiness and proven institutional capacity.
She urged governments, traditional rulers, community leaders, technology innovators and private sector operators to support the validation of address data to ensure that every building and resident is captured in the new national addressing database.
In his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the Ekiti State Bureau of Lands, Kayode Ojo, said the state’s collaboration with NIPOST began in December 2025, when the Ekiti State Data Centre initiated discussions on the project.
He said the partnership culminated in Ekiti’s selection as a pilot state in April 2026 after a successful engagement with NIPOST headquarters and the Federal Executive Council’s approval of the project.
He added that the two-day workshop would validate implementation strategies, define stakeholders’ responsibilities, address issues relating to street naming and data access, and produce a draft Memorandum of Understanding, implementation timetable, budget and operational framework ahead of field deployment.