Obaseki sacks commissioner of roads, bridges for alleged lack of performance

By Editor 

October 31, 2022

Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki has sacked the state commissioner for Roads and Bridges, Engineer, Newton Okojie from the state executive council over alleged failure of the ministry to  make progress in the roads and Bridges sector of the state.

A statement by the state commissioner for information and orientation,Hon Chris Nehikhare

and made available to newsmen in Benin City said the sack takes immediate effect.

According to the statement, it's unfortunate that we have not been able to make the envisaged progress in our road infrastructure particularly in the last 12months.

"And Sadly, the commissioner as much as he had tried, had not been able to make significant progress for the state government to achieve its goal",he said.

He said the governor thanked the Commissioner for his service to the state and wished him well in his future endeavours.

He urged the sacked commissioner to hand over all government property in his possession to the  Permanent Secretary in the ministry Engr. Osikhena Omoh Ojior pending the appointment of a new commissioner.

The commissioner was appointed by the governor in February, 2022

Recall that the state governor, Godwin Obaseki had September,2022 threatened to sack  any political appointees and Heads of Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs) that failed to meet up its revenue target.

Obaseki opined that the threat was occasioned by poor Internally Generated Revenue by the state agencies.

The governor made the threat  while addressing EXCO members and heads of MDAs during a two-day retreat at the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy in Benin City.

He said the retreat was aimed at examining and reviewing the state government’s performance in the first six months of 2022.

According to him, in this retreat, we are projecting the future of the state.  Each agency should have been able to develop a scorecard and key performance indicators that are measurable. We have not achieved the revenue we planned to earn in the first half of the year 2022, yet our expenditure has continued to run.

"We need to do something fast or else before the year runs out, we will run out of money. We must ensure that we earn enough to run the government and we need to cut down on waste.

"We should learn how to save and cut down on our waste and have more available to provide services for the people. The people are the key and we must have their interest at heart.

"Whatever we do now, there is a metric which they will use to monitor our performance and will put it before our face when the time comes. So, we have no excuse not to perform.

"We have another six months to catch up. You have to understand my background. I come from the private sector. If you can't deliver, then I cannot guarantee that you can continue because there is no basis to continue. We will be campaigning in February 2023, and can't give excuses to the people

"It is not supposed to be a threat, but we will give you all the support to help you to deliver", he said.

He added that the state appointees and heads of MDAs  need to cut down on waste and increase the state’s revenue base to enable the government run effectively and deliver on its campaign promises to the Edo people.

The governor, who noted that the state will not be able to finance the state based on oil revenue from Abuja added that it  will look for other sources of revenue to increase revenue for the state.

He, however, added that the state government is exploring other areas to boost revenue generation.