Twenty-four hours after his swearing-in, Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, on Wednesday, approved the dissolution of the executive of all boards, agencies and parastatals in the state public service with immediate effect.

The directive affected all permanent secretaries appointed outside the civil service.

The governor also ordered contractors in the state to return to sites, asking them to immediately fix all failed portions within the Benin metropolis.

In the same vein, he ordered the immediate and indefinite suspension of the collection of all revenues in the state, especially in motor parks, until further notice.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor ordered all affected appointees to hand over all government properties in their possession to the most senior public officers in their respective ministries, departments and agencies.

The statement read, “It is hereby announced for the information of the general public that the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has approved the dissolution of executives of all boards, agencies and parastatals in Edo State Public Service with immediate effect.

“In addition, all permanent secretaries appointed from outside the state public/civil service and all political appointees are hereby relieved of their appointments.

“Accordingly, all affected appointees are to hand over all government properties in their possession to the most senior public officer in their respective ministries, departments and agencies.”

In another statement, the governor ordered the state Commissioner of Police to arrest anyone who flouted the order on revenue collection suspension.

The statement read, “The Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has ordered the immediate and indefinite suspension of the collection of all revenues in Edo, especially in motor parks and others, until further notice.

“The governor said he would review the issues surrounding the collections soon and decide on the way forward.

“The collection of revenues in the state has been suspended indefinitely. Anyone seen collecting revenues on behalf of the state government will be arrested.

“The Commissioner of Police is hereby ordered to arrest anyone who flouts the order and collects any kind of revenues on behalf of the state government.

“The governor will soon address the issues and concerns raised. He will issue new directives soon. Until then, no one is authorised to collect revenues on behalf of the state government.”

Speaking during an inspection tour of the Upper Mission Extension Road by Aduwawa junction and the Ramat Park Axis in Benin City, Okpebholo said his administration, in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, remained committed to restoring the hope of Edo people.

Decrying the bad state of the roads, the governor assured residents that work would commence immediately.

He said he was in a hurry to bring the dividends of democracy to the people, by providing motorable roads.

He added, “During the campaigns, I promised that I am going to hit the ground running. Today, I ordered contractors back to the sites. We have no time to waste.

“We promised our people that we would fix and construct the roads. There is only one dry season in a year. This is the time to immediately move to sites and fix the roads.

“So, Edo people should expect good things to happen. We will fix our roads and ensure that our people enjoy the dividends of democracy.”

Some of the areas work is expected to commence immediately include the 7.5km Temboga Road, Lucky Way Junction by Aduwawa, and Ramat Park/Slope Axis.

Similarly, other parts of the state capital to experience immediate mobilisation of contractors are Eyaen Road and Obadan Junction, along the Benin/Auchi road.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Gnaduje and other leaders of the party including state governors were all in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Wednesday to campaign for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa ahead of the governorship election in the state on Saturday.

Shettima, who stood in for President Bola Tinubu at the rally, appealed to electorates in Ondo State to cast their votes en masse for the APC on Saturday to allow continuity of progressive governance.

Asides Vice President Shettima and Ganduje; governors of Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti states; minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; minister of youths development, Ayodele Olawande, senate leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele are among the party leaders present at this rally.

The chairman of APC National Campaign Council, Ondo Governorship Election, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu appreciated the people of Ondo State, appealing to them to vote for the party in Saturday’s election.

Ganduje on his part also wants Ondo people to vote for continuity and political uniformity in the South-West region.

The contestant, Governor Aiyedatiwa promised to continue in the footsteps of development laid down by past eminent leaders of the state.

He expressed assurance that the APC will win the election in all the 18 local government areas of the state.

The highpoint of the rally was the presentation of the APC flag to Governor Aiyedatiwa and his running mate, Olayide Adelami by the national chairman.

Governor Aiyedatiwa has been to all the 18 local government areas of Ondo State to campaign before concluding it in Akure, the state capital.

Donald Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House to meet President Joe Biden Wednesday, in the Republican’s first visit since departing under a torrent of scandal nearly four years ago.

Trump’s meeting with Biden comes as he moves swiftly to name his administration, including the world’s richest man Elon Musk as head of a new group aimed at slashing government spending.

Biden invited his sworn rival to meet in the Oval Office — despite the fact that 78-year-old Trump, who has consistently refused to admit his 2020 election loss, never afforded Biden the same courtesy.

Biden, 81, is expected to urge a smooth transition of power in the encounter at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) — and push for continued support for Ukraine.

“He believes in the norms. He believes in our institutions,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday when asked why Biden was inviting Trump.

“The American people deserve this. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power.”

However, in a break with protocol, Trump’s wife Melania “will not be attending today’s meeting at the White House,” her office said on X.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Biden would go over top foreign policy issues when he meets Trump — including US support for Ukraine against Russia, which Trump has indicated he will end.

The meeting may be a bitter pill to swallow for Biden, who branded Trump a threat to democracy.

The Republican leader of the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, said Trump may also visit the US Capitol, which a mob of his supporters stormed in 2021 to try to reverse his election loss.

Trump’s party looks set to take both chambers of Congress and consolidate his extraordinary comeback.

Tradition restored

Biden’s Oval Office invitation restores a presidential transition tradition that Trump tore up when he lost the 2020 election, refusing to sit down with Biden or even attend the inauguration.

Then-president Barack Obama had welcomed Trump to the White House when the tycoon won the 2016 election.

But by the time Trump took his last Marine One flight from the White House lawn on January 20, 2021, he had also been repudiated by many in his own party for having stoked the assault on the Capitol.

That period of disgrace soon evaporated, however, as Republicans returned to Trump’s side, recognizing his unique electoral power at the head of his right-wing movement.

Trump enters his second term with a near total grip on his party and the Democrats in disarray.

He has spent the week since the election at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida assembling his top team, as the world watches to see how closely he sticks to his pledges of isolationism, mass deportations and sweeping tariffs.

Trump named Space X, Tesla and X boss Musk, and another ally, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’)” — a tongue-in-cheek reference to an internet meme and cryptocurrency.

Musk’s out-sized influence within the Trump camp was underlined by multiple US media reports that the entrepreneur was accompanying the incoming president to his meetings with the Republican Party on Wednesday.

Trump is moving quickly to fill out his administration, picking a host of ultra-loyalists.

Trump nominated Fox News host and army veteran Pete Hegseth as his incoming defense secretary. An outspoken opponent of so-called “woke” ideology in the armed forces, Hegseth has little experience similar to managing the mammoth US military budget and bureaucracy.

Trump named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem — an ally who famously wrote about shooting her dog because it did not respond to training — as head of the Department of Homeland Security.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is tipped for secretary of state, US media reported, while Trump has also confirmed Congressman Mike Waltz, a former special forces officer, as his national security advisor.

John Ratcliffe, another figure who became prominent for defending Trump during his scandal-plagued first term, was named to head the CIA.

AFP