Obaseki Dissolves Cabinet as Tenure Ends, But Will Not Attend Handover Ceremony

Godwin Obaseki, who will leave power as governor of Edo State on Tuesday, November 12, has dissolved his cabinet.

Sen. Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was elected governor on September 21, 2024, will be sworn in on that day.

Mr. Obaseki, who took office on November 12, 2016, served a maximum of two terms of four years each. He was reelected in 2020.

Obaseki dissolved the cabinet shortly after a valedictory session held at the Government House on Friday in Benin – the capital city.

His deputy, Godwins Omobayo, moved the motion for the dissolution of the State Executive Council for 2020-2024, which was seconded by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Osilama Okuofu.

At the valedictory session, the governor commended members of the council for helping him manage the state’s affairs and thanked the state’s indigenes and residents for their support of his administration.

Members of the cabinet, including outgoing commissioners and some Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), presented awards and gifts to the governor. They also took turns outlining the government’s achievements under their MDAs.

The valedictory session climaxed with a dinner in honor of the governor.

Governor Not Invited To Predecessor’s Inauguration

However, during the inauguration of the caretaker committee for the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Obaseki complained that neither he nor his government had been invited to the inauguration of his successor, Monday Okpebholo.

He condemned the opposition APC’s actions as lawless and stressed that the state government should oversee the inauguration program.

“Somebody has to be sworn in and sworn into a government that exists. You just don’t come from nowhere and start a government. There is already a government. There is a way things are done,” he said.

“The government of Edo state is inaugurating a new governor on Tuesday. But what you are seeing now is all the posters. The government of Edo state is not involved.

“So, it is crazy when people just behave the way they are behaving, as if there are no laws in the country. I sit down sometimes and wonder.

“Are we okay as a country? The Constitution guides us. Laws, precedents, and procedures guide us.

“So, they are doing inauguration, I, as a governor, don’t know. Not even been invited. So, it is like they are starting a brand new state and government.”

The contentious campaign and the September election had degenerated into a bitter contest of power between Obaseki, who backed his own candidate, Asue Igbhdalo of the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, who supported Senator Okpebholo.

Even after the election had been won and lost, the lingering bitterness continues to portra African political class as amateurs with little minds, whose intents in politics are often not about service but aggrandizement and self-group interests.

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