The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State on Wednesday accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of converting his political aides into full-time civil servants.
Making the accusation in Benin, a member of the APC Transition Committee, Prince Kassim Afegbua, stated that it had come to the APC’s notice that Governor Obaseki “is currently converting his Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants (SAs) into full-time civil service staff.”
However, Governor Obaseki, through his Special Adviser on Media Projects, Crusoe Osage, dismissed the allegation as spurious, stating that it betrayed the low thinking of the incoming APC government.
Afegbua, in the statement, alleged that Governor Obaseki had added “186 such appointees in September this year to the already bloated number of aides around him and has just begun the process of absorbing another 152 aides to compound the problem.”
“The process is ongoing as part of an effort to overburden the incoming administration with huge recurrent expenditure, despite being aware that the state is already weighed down by a massive debt burden.”
“Governor Obaseki, for eight years, refused to recruit civil servants to fill vacant positions and revitalize the civil service. He also failed 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 actions to drain the resources of the state and impose huge salaries and overhead costs on the incoming administration.”
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“This is not only a wicked act but also a disservice to the incoming administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo.”
“We have repeatedly stated the position of the incoming administration: that anyone who is wrongly recruited or surreptitiously absorbed into the Civil Service, with backdated appointment letters, will be relieved of their responsibilities.”
“Recruitment into the Civil Service must follow due process, and there must be a genuine need for such recruits,” the statement said.
It also warned those who may fall victim to this deceit to be wary of Governor Obaseki’s dubious intentions.
In response, the Edo State Government stated that employment in the Edo State Public Service under the leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki has focused on serving the people.
In a statement, Crusoe Osage, the Special Adviser on Media Projects to the governor, criticized the APC for making spurious allegations.
“We are unfortunately seeing a disturbing trend from the APC even before they assume government positions. They have started making spurious claims that the state is overburdened by debt and are now threatening to sack workers.”
“In his recent statement, Kassim Afegbua, a member of the transition committee, threatened that they are ready to cut down the number of workers engaged in Edo State because they want more money for themselves.”
“This is evidently a sign of the level of thinking in the APC, where all they care about is what goes into their pockets, not what is best for Edo State,” the statement said.
It added that comments about the government’s employment practices were misguided, noting that the state government began engaging new workers across various sectors of governance more than six years ago, a fact that could be confirmed by civil servants in the state.
“So, it is disingenuous to claim at this last minute that the government is only now employing new workers to set traps for the new government.”
