The Edo State Government announced on Wednesday that outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki will provide a comprehensive handover note to the incoming administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo, despite the All Progressives Congress (APC) team’s boycott of the joint transition committee meeting.
At a press briefing in Benin City, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, confirmed that Senator Okpebholo will receive this detailed handover note.
He highlighted that all financial transactions, bank statements, and final accounts are accessible through the e-governance platform managed by the governor’s office.
“This is the first time in the state’s history that a government is transitioning from one political party to another. No previous APC administration has done this. They are now acting like inquisitors, but we will not allow that. The transition committee is not the incoming governor; their role is to verify projects and our accomplishments, which is standard practice globally,” he stated.
Nehikhare also noted that 90 percent of the information requested by the APC committee is already included in the documents provided to them. He emphasized that Governor Obaseki will only hand over to the governor-elect, Senator Okpebholo, and that the transition committee’s role is merely to verify the documentation, not to take on the governor’s responsibilities.
He explained that the state government requested a list of the APC’s transition committee members as a matter of courtesy when transferring power.
“When handing over, it’s essential to showcase everything accomplished during our tenure, including achievements and challenges faced by the outgoing government. However, they declined to engage with our documentation, getting bogged down in the details instead of focusing on the transition process, and instead took on an inquisitorial role.
“They are asking questions meant for a chief executive to pass to the next. Everything they seek is in the documents we have provided. They listed 24 items for us to address, acting as if they are directing the transition committee.
“The Edo State government does not take orders from members of the transition committee,” he added.
DAILY POST also noted that on Tuesday, members of the APC transition committee announced they would boycott the joint meeting unless the state government provided the requested documents. The committee spokesperson, Patrick Ikhariale, called for the documents to be made available at least 24 hours prior to the meeting for proper review.