Edo: ‘Don’t hide information from transition committee’ – Gov Obaseki warned

The outgoing governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has been told not to hide any information from the transition committee.

Dr Pius Odubu, the former deputy governor of the state who is the chairman of the governor-elect Monday Okpebholo’s transition committee, made the call during the inauguration of the outgoing and incoming government transition committee members on Friday in Benin City.

Odubu said the provision of documents containing the needed and necessary information would enable the incoming government to hit the ground running.

He opined that any information hidden from the transition committee would surely be unravelled.

According to him: “Electioneering is over now and we are now ready to run our government. We have capable hands, and you must avail us of all the information that you have.

“Let us not try to hide any information because there are several ways you can get information. The best bet is to let us have all that you have; let us go through them. It is like a briefing session so that the incoming government would be well briefed so that when he comes on board he will hit the ground running.

“This job (transition committee) is time-bound and we call for your massive cooperation to ensure that we get all that we need to get within the shortest possible time.

“Because we need to go through them, sensitise them and brief the governor-elect so that he can hit the ground running once he comes on board.

“He will need to be aware of the happenings of government before he comes on board, and in doing so, we need the information from you, documentaries, hard copies and soft copies when the case arises.

“We want to ensure that this is done within the prescribed time and we expect that we will work together collaboratively.

“You have told us informally that the documents would be ready early next week, and by the time we have got them, if we need more, we will let you know and call on you to supply those timely.”

The former deputy governor to Adams Oshiomhole solicited the cooperation of the outgoing government to prove the doubting Thomases that Edo State is one.

Earlier, in his address, Victor Eboigbe, the Secretary to the State Government and chairman of the outgoing government transition committee, assured that the committee would accord the incoming government team the needed support by providing all documents needed for a seamless transition.

While noting that this was the first time there would be a transition from one party to another in the state, he assured that processes have been designed to ensure that the handing over is very seamless and to ensure collaborative deliberations, “having at the back of our minds the interest of the good citizens of Edo State.”

He said further: “It is with a deep sense of duty and commitment as we gather here today not only to facilitate the handover of governance but to also build on the foundation of progress for the future of Edo State.

“By the time we make the information available, you will see that quite a lot of work has been done, quite a lot of reforms and innovation and therefore our collaboration is on that basis to build upon the foundation of progress and to move Edo forward.

“As the outgoing transition committee, our role has been to diligently document and present the achievements, lessons and frameworks of Governor Obaseki’s administration.

“About 90 per cent of the membership of the outgoing transition committee are public servants and this was a deliberate effort on the part of Governor Obaseki to ensure that we have a framework that will guarantee institutional history, a memory.

“We are here to offer support and expertise as the incoming team begins the very important work of building and addressing the challenges we are faced with. Together we can ensure that the hopes and aspirations of our citizens are met with renewed commitment and clear vision of progress.

“We selected even among those the sharpest minds in the public service to work on this committee.

“By the introduction on members, you will see that those that were brought on board are indeed pure technocrats. On top of it, we hired external experts who are independent of government.

“They came and took a look at what we have done to ensure that we indeed, completely documented, correctly stated the facts and the policy recommendations going forward are such that would engender the growth and innovations.”