The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki of converting political appointees into full-time civil servants just six days before handing over to the new administration.
The APC raised the alarm on Wednesday through a statement issued by Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the APC transition committee.
Afegbua alleged that this move was part of Obaseki’s attempt to overburden the incoming government with excessive recurrent expenditures, despite the state already being heavily burdened by debt.
He claimed that the governor is converting his Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants (SAs) into full-time civil servants.
“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 respectively,” Afegbua said.
He further added that 186 appointees were appointed by Obaseki in September 2024, and now, another 152 aides are in the process of being absorbed into the civil service, with interviews currently ongoing.
The APC also criticized the governor for not recruiting civil servants to fill vacant positions throughout his tenure, claiming he failed to invigorate the civil service for eight years.
Afegbua noted that Obaseki had only set up a civil service commission two weeks ago, just before the end of his administration.
He warned that these actions were intended to stifle state resources and leave the incoming government, led by Senator Monday Okpebholo, with enormous salaries and overheads.
In response, the Edo State Government dismissed the APC’s allegations, with spokesperson Crusoe Osage calling them false.
Osage stated that the Obaseki administration employed workers in the state’s best interest and criticized the APC for making unfounded claims about the state’s debt.
He emphasized that the government had been engaging new workers for years, making the timing of the claims misleading.
“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,” he said.
