The meeting of the Edo State Joint Transition Committee, which was supposed to hold on Tuesday, did not take place due to disagreements over the provision of necessary documents. This committee is made up of members from the outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration and the team of the governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
The issue arose when the All Progressives Congress (APC) transition team members did not show up at the meeting venue. According to the Secretary of the APC Transition Committee, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale, the absence was due to the unavailability of the required documents. Ikhariale explained that they had requested copies of the documents at least 24 hours in advance, but this request was not met by Obaseki’s team.
Ikhariale stated that despite several communications, the documents provided by the Obaseki-led team did not address the specific concerns raised by the APC team. These concerns included financial matters, grants, expenditures, and other key areas. He mentioned that they had 23 specific areas of interest which they communicated to Obaseki’s team, but what they received mainly showcased the achievements of the Obaseki administration, rather than the detailed information they needed.
The APC team is now drafting a formal letter to request the outstanding documents to allow the transition process to continue. Ikhariale emphasized that they are not asking for anything beyond standard practice and their focus is on gaining clarity on key areas such as financial expenditure, grants, and other crucial matters.
The next meeting is expected to be rescheduled once both parties come to an agreement on the necessary documentation.
