Less than 20 days to the end of Godwin Obaseki’s tenure as governor of Edo State, the transition committee of the All Progressives Congress has accused the government of laying booby traps for the incoming administration of Monday Okpebholo with the recruitment of 4000 teachers.
According to reports, Prince Kassim Afegbua, a member of the APC Transition Committee, made the accusation on Sunday in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin City.
Afegbua, who was the Media Director of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council, opined that the recruitment of the teachers by the outgoing government was also an attempt to overload the system for the incoming government.
According to him, the purported recruitment of 4,000 teachers by the outgoing governor is in bad faith.
“All through his active years as Chief Executive of Edo State, Governor Obaseki could not recruit any teacher to reinvigorate the educational interest of the state.
“We are, however, saddened by the sudden realisation in the twilight of his administration that the educational sector now needs teachers.
“It is pertinent to alert the public, particularly those allegedly recruited as teachers, to disregard the exercise and see it as another political ploy by Governor Obaseki, known for using EdoBest to allegedly defraud the citizens, the World Bank and other donor agencies.
“He only used the project for personal self-aggrandisement and that of his cronies. If he meant well for the state, he ought to have done this recruitment long before now that his game was up,” he alleged.
Afegbua noted that the recruitment has further confirmed APC’s position that the EdoBest project was a hoax and not for the good of the Edo people or its educational system.
He alleged that the outgoing Governor Obaseki used the project for his self-interest by playing with the future of the children of the state.
Afegbua recalled that Governor Obaseki’s predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had recruited 2,500 teachers at the twilight of his administration, which he (Obaseki) flagrantly discontinued on assumption of office in 2016, out of alleged hatred for those who helped him to power.
He, however, opined that the incoming administration of Senator Okpebholo would follow due process in the recruitment of teachers, which he had consistently promised throughout his campaign period.
According to him: “Senator Okpebholo will not recruit teachers with a partisan mind but with a determination to make Edo State better for our children. Playing politics with the recruitment of teachers will be the biggest disservice any governor will leave behind as a legacy.”
He reiterated: “EdoBest has always been a fraudulent project of the Obaseki administration.”