Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has expressed frustration over what he describes as the All Progressives Congress (APC) bypassing state protocol in preparations to inaugurate Senator Monday Okpebholo, without involving the current state administration.
Obaseki expressed his concerns in Benin during the inauguration of the caretaker committee for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State.
Senator Okpebholo, the APC candidate who won the September 21, 2024, governorship election against the PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
Condemning the APC’s approach as disregarding state authority, Obaseki argued that the Edo State government should oversee the inauguration.
He said, “Somebody has to be sworn in. 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 continued, criticizing the lack of state involvement, saying, “The government of Edo state is inaugurating a new governor on Tuesday. But what you are seeing now… all the posters. The government of Edo state is not involved.”
Obaseki expressed dismay at what he sees as a breakdown of proper procedure, questioning, “Are we okay as a country? We are guided by the constitution. We are guided by laws and precedents and procedures.”
Describing his exclusion as an unprecedented disregard for protocol, he concluded, “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.”
