***Says, platform not controlled by non-state actors

By Francesca Hangeior

The immediate past Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has berated his successor, Monday Okpebholo, for shutting down the state’s e-governance platform.
Reports have it that Okpebholo had said that the entire e-governance platform is being run and operated from the backend by unknown non-state actors, and no one within the whole public service of the state has administrative control of the platform.
In a statement through the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Ikhilor, the governor ordered an immediate review of the platform.

Okpebholo added that all officials and staff of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to continue to work on the platform pending the outcome of the ongoing review.

However, Obaseki, in a statement on Tuesday by his spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, stated that Okpebholo’s excuses for shutting down the platform are shameful and regressive.

The former governor said Okpebholo’s decision was a sign of a clueless government and an insult to the sensibilities of Edo workers and the people of the state.

Obaseki stated 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.

The 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 and the decision to revert the state’s civil service operations back to paper files to run the government.

“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. It further exposes the government’s cluelessness and lack of the depth and knowledge required for effective governance and administration in the 21st century.

“To be clear, 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, ensuring a digital and efficient system for government processes and operations.

“However, the unprepared and clueless government of Senator Monday Okpebholo, having come into power through one of the most flawed electoral processes in the country, 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.

“Had the government not embarked on the ongoing indiscriminate sack of civil and public servants in the state, the officials and workers responsible for this system would have been available to explain and train them on the process and functionality of the digital system. But what else can we expect from a governor who came to power through the backdoor? He is unprepared for office, in short supply of ideas, and lacks a clear vision to drive the development and progress of the state.”

Obaseki 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.

It added, “We also want to clarify that the allegations by the government that there is no institutional memory are completely false. All government memory and data are stored in the state-owned Data Centre, which was built and commissioned by the immediate past administration of His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. The Data Centre is situated within the Government House compound, from where the Secretary to the State Government is dishing out his jaundiced statements, filled with lies and half-truths.

“For eight years, the immediate past governor, HE Godwin Obaseki, focused on nuanced policies and programmes to lay a solid foundation for the State, placing it on the path of progress and prosperity.

“We advise Okpebholo to follow this path if he doesn’t have a vision or plan for the state rather than erode the progress that has been made over these past few years with his illogical and poorly thought-out decisions and policies.”