Transition: Edo govt denies withholding vital documents demanded by Okpebholo’s team
The Edo Government has denied that its transition committee was withholding vital documents that would have aided the work of the Edo Joint Transition Committee set up on Oct. 18.
The state government transition team said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Benin.
The state team said that the documents demanded by the APC committee could not be handed over by the state government team.
According to the state government team, only Governor Godwin Obaseki can hand over the documents to the governor-elect, Sen. Monday Okpebholo.
The Edo government was reacting to an allegation made by the APC committee on Tuesday, claiming that Governor Obaseki’s transition team was concealing vital documents that could assist the joint committee’s work.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the Edo Joint Transition Committee held its inaugural session on Oct. 18 to ensure a smooth power transfer between the outgoing and incoming administrations.
Mr Patrick Ikhariale, Secretary to the APC team, had said that the documents provided by the Edo government did not address the issues raised by the APC transition committee.
Ikhariale stated, “We have also as a committee requested that any document or information given to us should be provided at least 24 hours before meetings.
“This will allow us time to review the materials thoroughly, so we don’t end up discussing abstract concepts during the meetings,” Ikhariale said.
According to Ikhariale, the APC committee hoped to reconvene soon, pending the receipt of the necessary documents from the state government.
Responding to the allegations, Chris Nehikhare, the Edo Commissioner for Information and Orientation, stated that Governor Obaseki would hand over full details of all documents to his successor on Nov. 12.
Nehikhare explained that the Edo government had already provided soft copies of the thematic pillars for the committee’s report and had also fulfilled the request for hard copies.
He wondered why the APC transition committee members failed to attend the meeting on Tuesday, and Wednesday, having waited for over two hours without any appearance from the APC committee members
“It is quite embarrassing to hear that the APC transition committee members claimed we are withholding vital documents from them.
“All documents concerning Edo’s assets have been provided in these hard copies, covering 90 per cent of their request.
“The APC committee is asking questions that only the chief executive officer of the state can hand over to another chief executive officer and they are not the governor-elect.
“Until November 12, Obaseki and his team remain in charge and will dictate the process, we cannot take instructions from anyone else,” Nehikhare said.
Nehikhare also disclosed that the political office holders in Obaseki’s transition committee would submit their report on Oct. 30, after which only civil servants would be available to the APC transition committee.
“Those close to them should tell them to be patient, if they wish to verify infrastructure projects like roads, schools and others, we are prepared to provide them with the information.
“If they wish to visit the project sites for verification, we will gladly facilitate their visits, that is the role of a transition committee.
“What we will not do is respond to inquiries in a manner akin to a school setting,” Nehikhare asserted
