A fresh controversy has erupted between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, with the APC alleging that Obaseki has improperly transitioned his political aides into full-time civil service roles.
Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the APC’s Transition Committee, claimed on Wednesday that the governor appointed 186 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants (SAs) in September, converting them into state employees.
Afegbua’s statement contends that these appointments aim to burden the next administration with high salaries and excessive operational costs.
According to him, “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.
“Recruitment into the Civil Service must not only follow due process, there has to be a NEED for such persons who are so recruited”, the statement said.
However, the Edo State Government responded firmly, refuting these allegations. Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser on Media Projects, stated that since Obaseki took office, public sector hiring has prioritized the state’s needs and was carried out transparently.
Osagie claimed the APC’s accusations are “spurious” and part of a campaign to create confusion before the new administration steps in.
Osage said “We are unfortunately seeing a disturbing trend from the APC even before they assume government position.
“They have started making spurious claims that the state is overburdened by debt and are now threatening that they will 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 need more money for themselves. This is evidently a sign of the level of thinking in the APC, where all they care about is what gets into their pocket and not what is best for Edo State”, the statement said.
It added that the comments about the government employing workers were misguided, noting that the Government started engaging new workers across various spectrums of governance over six years ago, a fact that can be confirmed by civil servants in the State.
“So it is disingenuous to start claiming at this last minute that the government is now just only employing new workers to set traps for the new government.”
