A war of words has erupted between the immediate past Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, and his successor, Monday Okpebholo, over the shutdown of the state’s e-governance platform.
Okpebholo had ordered an immediate review of the platform, citing concerns that it was being operated by unknown non-state actors.
However, Obaseki has berated Okpebholo for shutting down the platform, describing his excuses as “shameful and regressive”.
In a statement released on Tuesday by his spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki argued that the platform is operated by the Edo ICT Agency, a parastatal under the Edo State Ministry of Digital Economy, with the support of expert consultants.
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Obaseki’s statement read, “We read with surprise and deep disappointment the utterly ridiculous statement by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Musa Ikhilor, where he laboriously attempted to justify the illogical shutdown of the Edo e-governance platform… This irrational decision is not only shameful and regressive but also an insult to the sensibilities of Edo workers and the people of the state.”
The former governor also refuted allegations by the Okpebholo government that there is no institutional memory, saying that all government memory and data are stored in the state-owned Data Centre.
Obaseki’s administration had built and commissioned the Data Centre, which is situated within the Government House compound.
Obaseki’s spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, emphasized that the shutdown of the e-governance platform is a sign of a clueless government.
“The unprepared and clueless government of Senator Monday Okpebholo… has since sacked most of the senior civil servants in the agency. As a result, the government is now hamstrung and unable to run the e-gov system effectively.”
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