Otti’s Digital Agenda Gains Momentum as Government House Press Corps Complete Ai Training

The Abia State Government has taken another step in advancing Governor Alex Otti’s digital transformation agenda as members of Government House Press Corps successfully completed a five-day Digital Literacy Training.

The training, organised by the Office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor in partnership with Learn Factory Nigeria, ran from Monday to Friday, at Government House Umuahia.

Participants in a photograph with Otti’s CPS Ukoha Njoku Ukoha.

Participants received hands-on training in computer appreciation, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Artificial Intelligence (AI) prompting to improve efficiency in public communication.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, congratulated the participants for successfully completing the training and commended the facilitators for their dedication and professionalism.

Imeremba Imeremba
Participant

He described the programme as part of the Governor Alex Otti administration’s commitment to building a digitally driven public service capable of delivering faster, more effective and people-centred communication.

“I commend every participant for your commitment throughout this training.

“The knowledge you have gained should not end here. Continue to practise, improve yourselves and make technology a valuable partner in your daily work,” Ukoha said.

He also applauded the facilitators from Lend Factory Nigeria for patiently guiding participants throughout the programme.

“Your professionalism and commitment ensured that everyone benefited from this training. On behalf of the Abia State Government, I sincerely appreciate your partnership in strengthening the capacity of our government media personnel,” he said.

Ukoha urged the participants to become champions of digital transformation in their profession and apply the knowledge they had acquired into daily activities.

The Lead Facilitator, Mr. Everest Olekaibe, who spoke on behalf of the CEO, Learn Factory Nigeria, Chibueze Ukaegbu explained that the programme covered key foundational digital literacy modules including computer basics, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva, and Artificial Intelligence.

Everest Olekaibe
Lead facilitator

He described the programme as an opportunity to empower government media personnel with practical digital skills relevant to modern journalism.

“When we were invited to facilitate this training, I saw it as an opportunity to share knowledge with people who were genuinely willing to learn.

It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm and commitment shown by every participant,” he said.

Ukaegbu noted that the training began with computer fundamentals before progressing to Microsoft Office applications and AI prompting, which he described as one of the highlights of the programme.

According to him, the newly acquired skills would make media officers more productive by simplifying tasks such as editing, transcription, voice recording, interviews and content creation.

“Ai has made many aspects of our work easier. By applying the tools introduced during this training, participants will work more efficiently, produce better results and save valuable time,” he added.

He disclosed that the organisers had already created a platform to provide continuous support after the training, where participants would receive assignments, ask questions and continue learning.

“This is not the end. We will continue to engage with the participants, monitor their progress and organise more advanced training in the future,” he said.

On the challenges encountered, he explained that teaching adult learners required patience because participants came with varying levels of digital knowledge.

“These are experienced professionals with different learning speeds. Sometimes we had to revisit lessons to ensure everyone understood before moving on. Our priority was to carry everybody along, and I believe we achieved that,” he said.

Ukaegbu encouraged participants to embrace technology instead of fearing it, stressing that Artificial Intelligence is now an indispensable tool in the communications profession.

“Technology is here to stay, and so is AI. The reality is that AI is not taking people’s jobs; rather, those who know how to use AI are ahead of those who refuse to adapt. The more you learn these tools, the more valuable you become,” he said.

In a vote of thanks, the Head of the Information and Press, Government House Umuahia, Divine Nwankwo, expressed appreciation to the facilitators from Learn Factory Nigeria for their dedication, patience and commitment throughout the five-day training.

Nwankwo also thanked the Mr Ukoha for initiating the programme, describing it as a timely intervention that would strengthen the digital capacity of government media professionals in Abia State.

“With this training, I can now transcribe audios with ChatGpt as much as I can, create fliers, create a worksheet on Excel and perform tasks using AI,” Nwankwo noted.