Seven months after he was sworn in for a second term, Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki is yet to name his cabinet members.
Obaseki had defected to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress(APC) after he was denied the ruling party’s gubernatorial ticket during the primaries due to an internal party crisis.
He later defeated the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu,, in the September 19, 2020 Governorship election, for a second term. Obaseki, alongside his deputy, Philip Shaibu, was inaugurated in November, 2020. However, seven months after the swearing-in ceremony, the Governor is yet to nominate cabinet members to work with him.
While some believed Obaseki is taking his time considering his face-off with his former political godfather, Adams Oshiomhole, some attribute the delay to the division in the PDP.
But the National Vice Chair, South-south, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dan Orbih, in March, said the delay in constituting the cabinet by the Edo State Government is not a sign of a divided party in the state.
“Not forming an executive cabinet cannot be a product of a divided house, that is purely a decision that lies within the powers of the governor,” he said.
He noted that the delay in constituting the cabinet by the Edo Government might not be unconnected with reforms the government was carrying out in the state, especially in the civil service.
“And if the ongoing reforms are affecting the constitution of the cabinet, I think they have gone very far in the exercise.”
However, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has said that the state cabinet will be formed in few days, saying the delay was to ensure that the people who voted in the government are part of picking the commissioners.
Shaibu made this known on Sunday while speaking to journalists shortly after the Fathers Day ceremony at St Paul Catholic Church, Benin, Edo state capital city.
“We will get a cabinet very soon. The process of getting the names started from the grassroots. This governor will not appoint people all by himself. He prefers that the people should nominate those that they feel should run the affairs of the state.”
“I am sure the best hand will be nominated by the people to serve their interest in the belief that together we will take Edo State to a great height,” he said.
