Obaseki Converts Political Appointees to Civil Servants Days Before Handover
“Governor Obaseki faces criticism for converting political appointees to civil servants just six days before handing over, sparking concerns from the APC.
Edo State Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has expressed concern regarding the alleged conversion of political appointees into full-time civil servants by the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki, just six days before the end of his term.
According to a statement from Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) transition committee, this conversion involves Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants, with 186 such appointments made in September 2024, inflating the number of aides.
Afegbua further claimed that the outgoing governor has initiated the process to absorb an additional 152 aides, which he argues will burden the incoming administration with excessive recurrent expenditures, despite the state’s existing debt challenges.
He criticized Obaseki for neglecting to recruit civil servants during his tenure and for only recently establishing the Civil Service Commission, warning that these actions could severely impact the resources available to Senator Okpebholo’s administration.
