Several leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, have kicked against the recent appointments of 38 Senior Special Assistants and 96 Special Assistants by Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Secretary to the Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie, Esq had last Thursday, stated in a statement that the new appointments followed the harmonization by leaders of the party across the state.
He had announced that the 134 appointees were drawn from nine Local Government Areas across the state including Ikpoba-Okha, Owan East, Owan West, Orhionmwon, Ovia South-West, Akoko-Edo, Etsako-West, Etsako-Central and Etsako-East LGAs.
But in a swift reaction, PDP leaders in Edo North berated the governors over the claim that the appointments were made after harmonization of the party by party executives.
The PDP Vice-Chairman, Edo North Senatorial District, Hon. Segun Saiki, and its Secretary, Hon. Sherrif, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday shortly after the government announcement.
They stoutly denied the claim that the appointment followed harmonisation, and accused the governor of misleading party members and people of the state.
They alleged that almost all those appointed were former members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who decamped to the PDP with governor Obaseki in 2020.
According to the statement, “It’s with unsettling trepidation but amusement that we read the Edo State Government publication signed by the Secretary to the Government, Bar. Osarodion Ogie, purportedly and erroneously claiming the list of approved belated appointments of Senior Special Assistants and Senior Assistants was occasioned by the imaginary harmonization of Party, PDP executives.
“For the records, we have observed that 95% of those appointed were former APC members who joined the Party with the Governor. We however congratulate them and wish them well in the endeavour.
“The statement that the appointment flowed from purported harmonisation is misleading. It is a figment of the imagination and an officially sponsored falsehood. There was never harmonization of any kind in Edo North PDP. The issue of Party Exco harmonization has since been put to rest as the National Convention has approved the congresses that elected the present Executive at all levels in the state.
“And most importantly, the executive members of the PDP who were duly elected in the congresses last year (2020) have a tenure of 4 years which was recently validated during the just concluded National Convention. The National Convention rectified all the Ward, LGA and State Congresses that produced the party executives at all these levels, and it is incontestable.”
They nonetheless, appealed to party members to ignore the claims of the governor and focus their attention on ensuring that the PDP win big in the 2023 general elections.
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