The All Progressives Congress (APC) transition committee has clarified that outgoing Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, was not invited to the inauguration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the new governor due to his alleged efforts to undermine the event.
Naija News reports that Okpebholo, the APC candidate, won the 2024 governorship election and is set to succeed Governor Obaseki, whose two terms in office conclude on November 12, 2024.
Okpebholo triumphed over his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and 15 other candidates in the September 21, 2024 election.
Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the APC transition committee, issued a statement in Benin City, titled “Obaseki and His Lamentations”, where he criticized the outgoing governor for attempting to disrupt the transition.
Afegbua claimed that instead of planning the inauguration, as is customary, Obaseki was busy creating obstacles to the smooth transfer of power.
In response to allegations by Obaseki, who claimed that the governor-elect had borrowed between ₦2 billion and ₦5 billion from the state’s ₦27 billion reserved for project payments, the APC committee rejected the accusation.
They called it “laughable” and “self-indicting,” noting that such statements were a result of the PDP’s loss in the elections.
Obaseki had raised concerns during a PDP event on Friday, saying that the inauguration would cost between ₦2 billion and ₦5 billion, suggesting that funds were being misused for an extravagant ceremony. He also expressed his frustration over not being invited to the event.
In its reply, the APC transition committee emphasized that Obaseki’s claims were unfounded.
They pointed out that in other countries, outgoing leaders organize the inauguration of incoming officials, but Obaseki’s actions were an attempt to frustrate the smooth transition of power.
The committee accused him of creating unnecessary obstacles, such as demanding an inauguration budget, which the APC declined to provide.
Afegbua further revealed that the governor-elect had taken personal responsibility for funding the inauguration, ensuring that the event would be modest and focused on the needs of Edo’s people, rather than extravagant displays.
He stressed that no funds had been borrowed for the occasion, contrary to Obaseki’s claims, and that the new administration was committed to prudent financial management.
“Suddenly, Godwin Obaseki realizes the ephemerality of power and now resorts to lamentations about an ongoing inauguration without extending an invitation to him. We found this to be generously laughable and self-indicting.
“In other climes, an outgoing governor or president organizes the inauguration of the incoming, but for the painful loss of the PDP at the election, Governor Obaseki and his co-travelers are doing everything possible to frustrate the inauguration of the incoming Governor.
“Rather than sit down to plan the inauguration event as it is done in other climes, Governor Obaseki is busy planting landmines on the path to smooth transfer of power.
“From the transition committee to the inauguration committee, despite all the cooperation we have extended to them, what we have received in return is frustration and a deliberate plot to overburden the new administration with all manner of misplaced government decisions.
“We frown at these dubious plots which are clear negations of the standard procedures of power transfer the world over.
“Our inauguration team met with the Secretary to the State Government, who later handed our team over to another Permanent Secretary.
“The said Permanent Secretary had nothing on her table. She asked that our team should present an inauguration budget, and we declined because we wouldn’t want them to accuse us of spending bogus funds for the inauguration,” he stated.
Afegbua also raised concerns over the alleged misappropriation of government assets, claiming that most government vehicles had been taken by officials, leaving only one functional vehicle at the Edo State Government House.
He concluded by questioning the intentions of a government that would allow such actions to take place and called for a fair and smooth transition as the new administration prepares to take over.
“He has also cut down on the activities to make the entire ceremony a bit moderate. He doesn’t believe in an ostentatious display of resources when a lot of Edo people have been impoverished by Governor Obaseki. He’s of the view that the inauguration shouldn’t be an elaborate event.
“We have not borrowed a kobo from anywhere. We are not Governor Obaseki and his profligate self. We are conscious of our responsibilities to make life better for the average Edo person”, he stated.
“Why should we borrow money because of the inauguration? Do you know as we speak that most government vehicles have been carted away by government officials?
“There is only one functional vehicle in Edo state Government House. Every vehicle has been carted away. Is that a government that is interested in inauguration?” he queried.
