The All Progressive Congress (APC) has slammed the out-going Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, for “flooding” the State Civil Service with hundreds of fresh appointments, barely six days to the end of his tenure.
A member of the APC Transition Committee in Edo State, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said in a statement that the new appointees are largely his former Special Assistants who he allegedly “hurriedly recruited early this year across the wards to campaign for his candidate, Asue Ighodalo.”
Afegbua said that in September alone, Governor Obaseki “added 186 of such appointees in September this year to the already bloated number of aides around him and has just commenced the process of absorbing another 152 aides to compound the problem.”
Stating that the hurried recruitment “is not only a wicked act but a huge disservice to the incoming administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo,” warning 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 full text of the statement titled ‘GOVERNOR OBASEKI’S LAST DECEIT’ reads: “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.
“He added 186 of such appointees in September this year to the already bloated number of aides around him and has just commenced the process of absorbing another 152 aides to compound the problem.
“The interview is presently ongoing as part of effort to overburden the incoming administration with huge recurrent expenditure, aware that the state is already bugged down by huge debts burden.
“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.
“Recruitment into Civil Service must not only follow due process, there has to be a NEED for such persons who are so recruited.
“This is to forewarn those who may fall into this deceit to be wary of Governor Obaseki’s dubious intentions.”