Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the Governor of Edo State, has stated that nominations to state offices will no longer be based on political or personal relationships, but rather on competence.
This came as he claimed that his government had put an end to the era when people were promoted based on how long they had spent in a certain post.
Prof. Faith Osadolor as the new Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Justice, and Ozavize Salami as the Executive Chairman, Edo State Universal Basic Education Board, were sworn in by the governor (SUBEB).
The governor also established a five-man Audit Service Commission, tasked with using the position to benefit the majority of Edo inhabitants.
Obaseki challenged the new appointments to be results-oriented as he swore them in at the EXCO Chambers in Government House, Benin City.
According to him, “These two appointments should serve as an indication of the direction our government is headed in terms of quality and calibre of personnel that we will be bringing in to run the civil and public service in Edo.
“Our election of September 19, 2020, was a clear signal that the people of Edo want the government to deliver services to them. The lesson we have taken from that is that we have to organize the government in such a way that very competent people are appointed and not people being appointed because of political or personal affiliations.
“We have ended that era where you are promoted because you have spent a certain amount of time in a certain position.”
The governor continued: “The appointment you are seeing this morning is an indication of how we will be appointing people into our civil and public service. It is no longer going to be based on who you know or strictly on your political affiliation. It is largely going to be driven by what you know and your personality and integrity.
“You earned your appointment solely because of your backgrounds and your proven achievements to date. I expect that those backgrounds and the competencies that you have displayed up till now are what you will bring to bear in your new assignments.”
He added: “For Solicitor General, we expect that given your background as a Professor of Law, you are technically going to be the head of the largest law chambers in Edo with over a hundred lawyers. I brought you in to help rebuild the capacity in our ministry of justice.
“I want to see our Ministry of Justice as the highest producer of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). We have hired very brilliant men and women into the Ministry of Justice. We hope that you will help us give them direction, mentoring and grooming them to become very successful lawyers.”
Obaseki further charged: “Salami, given your background, you have no excuse to fail. We have set a standard in SUBEB; we brought you in to consolidate and take our success to another height.
“The groundwork has been done; we will not accept anything less than what you have met. We are leaving the lives of over a quarter of a million children in your hands.”
The Solicitor General and SUBEB, the Executive Chairman, committed not to let the government or the people of Edo State down in their remarks.
