OBASEKI, TAIWO AKERELE AND THE NUJ'S MISSING BUS DEBACLE by JOHN MAYAKI

SOURCE: johnmayaki.com

The Edo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki, has continued in its recklessness and infamy of hiding behind slanderous lies, and propagandistic claims that inadvertently advertise its incompetence and dysfunctional state, to avoid responsibility for its ever-increasing failures.

Two full years after offering his resignation, the government has only realized that its ex-Chief of Staff, Mr. Taiwo Francis Akerele, purportedly left with 10 vehicles belonging to the state government, including one assigned to the state’s branch of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and another, to the Correspondents chapel.

Curiously too, this convenient recollection and latter-day angst over a supposed act of official plunder was made at an engagement with ranking members of the NUJ who, like all other associations and institutions in the state, are displeased that more than five years in the saddle, the Obaseki-administration has failed to meet any of its promises, both big and small.

If Taiwo Akerele indeed went away with a fleet of cars purchased with taxpayers’ money, why has the state government kept mum on the matter and only surrendered the information as an excuse to the leadership of a protesting union two years after the fact?

Given its self-proclaimed status as a government fighting against phantom powers in the interest of the people, a government that has made its success about keeping the state treasury from the reach of some unseen hands – never mind the fact that senior members of the administration continue to be caught with their hands in the till; then it beggars belief that it could watch a member leave with what is essentially an entire garage of state vehicles.

Where is the evidence of a formal report lodged against Mr. Akerele with the Police or any of the anti-corruption agencies over this alleged illegal act? Surrendering items and tools purchased with taxpayers’ money is a fundamental obligation all members of the public service must meet upon the expiration of their tenure – whether statutorily or abruptly. It is a process explicitly defined and protected by the public service rules. The government has the means and wherewithal to prosecute an erring individual – especially one that left in a circumstance that was certainly not cordial.

But no report was lodged, and no effort made, because no vehicle was taken. Mr. Akerele has not been in hiding. He has continued with his public policy engagements across the country and beyond. He was even sighted at a state function in government house during its 5th year anniversary last year. Yet he has received no petition nor invitation. Such a petition would be based on facts and evidence, not fiction invented by a self-styled Pastor who lies more than he breathes in oxygen.

The sad truth is that the Obaseki-administration is a rapidly unfolding disaster. It has reached the end of its wits, has lost the plot, and is no longer capable nor willing to manage the compounding problems of the state. When confronted with incontrovertible proofs of its failure at every turn, it invents the strawman and places the blame at the feet of others.

Now it has gone full circle, desperately digging and mining the past for individuals to blame. Mr. Taiwo Akerele is the reason the NUJ is denied what should have long been awarded despite leaving the government two years ago. Can the government at least do the people the honors of presenting respectable lies to them? And for responsible journalism, the task to unravel this blatant and brazen lie raises a deluge of questions about the profession.

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