The State Media Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress for the Edo Governorship election has dismissed as deceitful and impractical the announced approval of all outstanding promotions in Edo State’s public service by the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
He made the announcement last week through a circular letter sent to the Secretary to the State Government and the Head of Service, directing “Ministries, Agencies, and Departments [MDAs] to commence the process of the promotion exercise of eligible officers without delay.
” However, in a statement released by Mr. John Mayaki, the Chairman of the APC Media Campaign Council, the APC says the governor was merely playing to the gallery as the approval of appointments and promotion in the civil service is not a part of the governor’s portfolio but that of the civil service and judicial service commissions respectively.
Mayaki accused the governor of pervading the media space with lies designed to misrepresent events in the state and take credit for developments his administration lack the competence and constitutional mandate to carry out.
He said: “Mr. Godwin Obaseki who has decimated the Edo State public service with his corruption and detached style of governance which has alienated public servants in the State has disgracefully gone from claiming credits for projects executed and funded by SEEFOR and NDDC, to issuing weightless statements and directives he has no constitutional power to enforce.
“While Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s poor understanding of the workings of government and public service rules is an established fact, the series of announcements emanating from Osadebey Avenue are nonetheless deliberate falsehoods placed in the media as part of an elaborate deception campaign.
“His purported approval of promotions that he has ignored since 2018 but suddenly interested in a few weeks to election is an empty directive, a play to the gallery, and a shameful attempt at deceit all just to win votes.
“It is not part of the governor’s portfolio to approve appointments in the public service but constitutionally that of the civil service and judicial service commissions respectively. In the same vein, the only role by government or the governor is to approve vacancies/establishments positions beyond which the aforementioned commissions cannot go.
“To worsen, if not render invalid, the recent assumed promotions, is the fact that as we speak presently, because of the nonchalance and incompetence of Governor Godwin Obaseki, Edo State has no functional judicial service commission due to his refusal to inaugurate the appointed one for political reasons similar to his illegal exclusion of duly elected members of the Edo Assembly for months.
“It is common knowledge that no promotions are ideally made in the public service without the candidates attending statutorily ordained promotion interviews either before the civil service commission or judicial service commission as the case may be.
“Ultimately, while it is understandable that the time and period is that which warrants promotion of self, it is however reprehensible and morally condemnable for the Governor to desperately lie and deceive—all in the bid to curry favor in the eyes of the people following his failure to positively impact the lives of Edo people in the last four years.”
