Jonathan Nwokpor
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With six days left in his term, departing Governor Godwin Obaseki is accused of turning political appointees into full-time civil servants, which has alarmed Edo State Governor-elect Senator Monday Okpebholo.
According to ZINGTIE, the accusation was made by Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) transition committee, in a statement that was provided to reporters in Benin City on Wednesday.
According to Afegbua, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants are the political appointees being transformed into full-time public officials.
According to him, the governor appointed 186 of these appointees in September 2024, which resulted in an excessive number of aides surrounding him.
Additionally, he said that the outgoing governor had recently started the process of hiring 152 aides to compound the problem.
The member of the APC transition committee claimed that the interview was still going on because the governor, Obaseki, knew that the state was already heavily indebted and was trying to overload the incoming administration with excessive ongoing expenses.
“It has come to our notice that Governor Obaseki is presently converting his Senior Special Assistants (SSA) and Special Assistants (SA) into full time civil service staff.
“Governor Obaseki, for eight years refused to recruit civil servants to fill up vacant positions and energize the civil service.
“He also refused to set up the Civil Service Commission until two weeks ago, in the twilight of his failed administration.
“We are alerting the public to be aware of Governor Obaseki’s deliberate engagement to stifle the resources of the state and pass on huge salaries and overhead to the incoming administration.
“This is not only a wicked act but a huge disservice to the incoming administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo.
“We have repeatedly stated the position of the incoming administration that anybody who is wrongly recruited or surreptitiously absorbed into the Civil Service, with backdated appointment letters would be relieved of his or her responsibility,” the statement said.
According to Afegbua, recruitment into the civil service must not only adhere to the proper procedures; there must also be a need for the individuals recruited.
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