Obaseki’s Eleventh-Hour Employment Tactics: Burdening Edo’s Future for Political Gain

 BY COMRADE MICHAEL ABU. 

Governor Godwin Obaseki's recent actions reveal a calculated attempt to destabilize the future of Edo State's governance, burdening the incoming administration with unsustainable responsibilities. After seven years of neglect, Obaseki has abruptly reopened the Igueoriakhi School of Agriculture and the Edo Cultural Center, employing hundreds in positions that had been abandoned under his own administration. This sudden surge in employment within state-run institutions appears less an act of service to Edo's people than a maneuver designed to encumber the incoming government with an overloaded bureaucracy.

In particular, Obaseki’s choice to fill these roles primarily with PDP loyalists indicates an intent to secure positions for his followers within government structures, monopolizing opportunities that rightly fall under the authority of the new administration. With only weeks remaining in office, such actions reflect a prioritization of personal and partisan interests over the long-term stability of Edo’s governance.

Beyond the political motivations, this last-minute expansion of government payrolls imposes a significant financial strain on state resources. By hastily adding new hires without adequate budgeting or planning, Obaseki conveniently shifts financial accountability to the incoming leadership. This pattern of delayed action to evade responsibility undermines the integrity of Edo’s governance, leaving the incoming administration to navigate the fiscal pressures of maintaining a ballooning public workforce.

For years, Obaseki allowed critical institutions to languish, only to make a final show of “progress” as his term concludes—a hollow gesture that strains the patience of Edo’s citizens. The people of Edo deserve more than fleeting political maneuvers; they deserve leadership that commits to genuine, long-term investments in employment, education, and infrastructure.