ABUJA: Leaders of the All Progressives Congress APC in Edo State have asked Governor Monday Okpebholo to redeploy Government House staff who worked with the administration of his immediate predecessor, Godwin Obaseki.
Speaking under the aegis of Edo APC leaders of thought, their spokesman, Momodu Adams, said most of the civil servants there had become used to working with Obaseki and that it would constitute security risk to keep them in their current beats.
Adams said that from the Permanent Secretary of the Government House, Edith Sede, down to caterers, there is an urgent need for their redeployment.
According to him, in the wake of the recent leak of official memos from the Government House, the governor can no longer keep the staff.
He said Sede is a known loyalist of Obaseki and the former Secretary to the State Government SSG, Osarodion Ogie, and that she is still working with all the civil servants in Government House who served in the administration of Obaseki, a development he described as frustrating for Okpebholo’s appointees.
“During major events in the State, Mrs Sede engages loyalists of the PDP and Obaseki to handle the cooking and other official arrangements.
“Within the Government House, Sede has retained cooks who served in Obaseki’s administration. This arrangement is causing serious disarray, as appointees are now afraid of being poisoned.
“APC leaders are worried about the development because some persons are leaking official documents in their possession to PDP leaders, especially Ogie and Asue Ighodalo, who are trying to upturn the victory of Governor Okpebholo at the Tribunal.
“If something urgent is not done, who knows what will happen next?
“All protocol officers in Government House including those who serve tea to Governor Okpebholo are loyalists of Obaseki who are being retained by the Permanent Secretary. Accountants, procurement officers, cooks, drivers, and 98 percent of the staff who worked in Government House during Obaseki’s administration, are still in Okpebholo’s administration.
“We are worried. People hide or sit on files meant for the Governor.
“For instance, Governor Okpebholo currently has no retainership with any media house because there are people scheming to frustrate Okpebholo’s administration by ensuring that he gets bad press.
“We understand that media houses and journalists in Edo State are losing patience with Governor Okpebholo’s administration. When the media starts its own war with the new administration, it will mess it up, and that is what some people want. They frustrate everything that will give the Okpebholo administration the needed good image,” Adams stated.
