December 03, (THEWILL) -Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has approved the appointment of 38 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and 96 Special Assistants (SAs).
A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, said the appointments followed the harmonisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by party leaders across Edo State.
The 134 appointees, Ogie said, 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.
Meanwhile, leaders of the PDP in Edo North Senatorial District have faulted the claim that the appointments were made after harmonisation of the PDP by party executives.
The PDP Vice-Chairman, Edo North Senatorial District, Hon. Segun Saiki, and its Secretary, Hon. Sheriff, made this known in a statement on Thursday night.
The leaders accused the governor of falsehood and misleading party members and the people of the state.
They alleged that those appointed were former members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who decamped to the PDP with governor Obaseki.
The statement reads: “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 harmonisation 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 any harmonisation of any kind in Edo North PDP. The issue of Party Exco harmonisation 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.”
According to the chieftains, there was no harmonisation in Edo North PDP, saying that the move has been suspended as the National Convention has approved the congresses that elected the present Executive at all levels in the state.
The statement, however, asked party members to ignore the claims of the governor and focus their attention on ensuring that the PDP wins big in the 2023 general elections.
It added: “The National Convention is the highest organ of the party and its decision is final and binding on all members of the party. Anybody, no matter how highly placed, who decides to take a contrary step under the notorious guise of unconstitutional and discarded harmonisation or integration will be viewed as engaging in anti-party activities, and such activities will not escape disciplinary action.
“We cannot fold our hands and allow some aggrieved and ungrateful elements to destabilise the party in the state. We advise mischief agents of harmonisation to check the provisions of the Party Constitution to appreciate the futility of their ill-advised destructive mission.
All party members enjoined to ignore the phoney harmonisation and concentrate on the task of winning support for the party as we prepare for the coming elections to the state, National Assembly and Presidential election.“
