(PRESS STATEMENT)
The recruitment of 4,000 teachers by the out-going government of Governor Godwin Obaseki in Edo state, is an attempt to overload the system and lay booby traps for the in-coming administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo.
This has further confirmed our position that the EdoBest project was a hoax and not for the good of Edo people nor its educational system. Governor Obaseki used the project for his self-interest; playing with the future of our children.
The purported recruitment of 4,000 teachers by the out-going Governor is in bad faith.
All through his active years as Chief Executive of Edo state, Governor Obaseki could not recruit any teacher to reinvigorate the educational interest of the state.
We are however saddened by the sudden realization in the twilight of his administration that the educational sector now needs teachers.
It is pertinent to alert the public and particularly those allegedly recruited as teachers to disregard the exercise and see it as another political ploy by Governor Obaseki, known for using EdoBest to allegedly defraud the citizens, the World Bank and other donor agencies. He only used the project for personal self-aggrandisement and that of his cronies. If he meant well for the state, he ought to have done this recruitment long before now that his game was up.
Recall how his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole had recruited 2,500 teachers at the twilight of his administration, which he flagrantly discontinued on assumption of office in 2016, out of hatred for those who helped him to power.
The incoming administration of Senator Okpebholo will follow due process in the recruitment of teachers which he consistently promised throughout his campaign period.
Senator Okpebholo will not recruit teachers with a partisan mind but with a determination to make Edo state better for our children. Playing politics with the recruitment of teachers will be the biggest disservice any Governor will leave behind as a legacy.
We urge you to pray and support the incoming administration and reflect on the misdeeds of the out-going government where fist was might, to serve as deterrence to our future leaders and politicians.
EdoBest has always been a fraudulent project of the Obaseki administration.
E-Signed
Prince Kassim Afegbua,
Member, Transition Committee