Edo State’s outgoing Governor, Godwin Obaseki, expressed disappointment at not being invited to his successor Monday Okpebholo’s inauguration.
Obaseki noted that his administration has not been involved in the planning for Okpebholo’s inauguration, set to take place on Tuesday.
Okpebholo, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the governorship election in Edo State held on September 21.
The outgoing governor criticized the APC’s conduct as unlawful, emphasizing that the state government should oversee the inauguration program.
He made these remarks in Benin City while inaugurating the caretaker committee for the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Someone has to be sworn in—to join an existing government. You can’t just come in from nowhere and start a new government. There’s already a government in place,” he said
“There is a proper way to do things,” he said.
“The Edo State government is inaugurating a new governor on Tuesday. But as you can see, with all the posters around, the state government is not involved in the process.
“It’s absurd when people act as though there are no laws in this country. Sometimes, I just sit and wonder.”
They’re holding an inauguration, and as governor, I’m not informed—not even invited.
“It’s as if they’re creating a completely new state and government,” Obaseki remarked.
Reporter previously reported that the APC raised concerns over Obaseki allegedly converting political appointees into full-time civil servants just six days before his tenure ends.
Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the APC transition committee, made the accusation in a statement released to journalists last Wednesday in Benin City.
The APC claimed that political appointees being converted to full-time civil servants include Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants.
The party stated that the governor appointed 186 of these aides in September 2024, thereby increasing the number of his personal staff.
Additionally, it alleged that the outgoing governor has recently begun the process of absorbing another 152 aides.
