Commissions within the Edo State Public Service have become the latest victims in the unbridled dissolutions that have visited the state since the new governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, was sworn in on November 12, 2024.
The decision to dissolve the commissions was communicated in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilo, who confirmed that the dissolutions take effect immediately.
The affected commissions are the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), the Civil Service Commission, the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission, the Edo State Forestry Commission, the House of Assembly Service Commission, the State Audit Service Commission, and the Judicial Service Commission.
The statement also instructed all chairmen and members of the commissions to promptly hand over any government property in their possession to the most senior public officers.
Since he assumed office, Governor Okpebholo has been on a ruinous dissolution mission. Just a day after his inauguration, the Edo State governor dissolved the executive boards, agencies, and parastatals in the state’s public service.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, on November 13, the governor ordered all affected appointees to hand over all government properties in their possession to the most senior public officer in their respective ministries, departments, and agencies.
Other dissolutions have continued since then, and observers believe he is fighting hard to create vacancies that will be used to settle party loyalists.
