The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, on Monday, lambasted the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, for signing an Executive Order to provide legal cover for the appointment of his son, Babajide as Director-General of Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU) in the state.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei, who described the development as a deliberate attempt to provide legal cover for the illegal appointment of his son as the PPIMU Director-General.
Peretei said apart from this, the order was also designed to relegate Commissioners in the state to the background by subjecting them and answerable to the PPIMU Director-General in terms of project approval for their various ministries.
The PDP who noted that governance has never been reduced to a laughable extent in the history of the state said PPIMU was never an approving authority under previous administrations that Akeredolu copied this practice from.
The statement read: “The Governor has just signed an Executive Order to provide legal cover for the illegal appointment of his son, Babajide as Director-General of Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU).
“The Executive Order amongst other provisions states that all MDAs of Ondo State Government shall process approvals for projects through the Impact Assurance Process of PPIMU as constituted by this Order”
According to the party, this was designed to cover for the incompetence and lack of experience of the governor’s son to discharge such responsibilities demanded by his office which was alleged to have been signed secretly.
“The Order states further the operational Head of PPIMU appointed by the Governor of Ondo State shall be the Director-General/Special Adviser (DG/SA) and shall be supported by a professional corp of officers in various categories to be recruited from within and outside of the civil service.
“On a good day, when a Governor signs an Executive Order for the good of the people, it is done with funfair, but this particular one was secretly signed because of the implications for the government.
“It is an Order that has finally reduced Honourable State Commissioners, some of them accomplished in their various fields to submit projects from their ministries for approval to Mr Governor’s son, who will, in turn, depend on “professional Corp of officers” to give such approvals before Almighty Mr Governor appends his signature with the red pen. Governance has never been reduced to such a laughable extent in the history of the state”
While explaining the rationale behind the creation of the PPIMU, Peretei said “it may be necessary to explain how Dr Olusegun Agagu came up with the idea of PPIMU attached to the Governor’s Office in 2003. It was to serve as a check on contractors that quoted bogus figures for government projects or items to be procured by the government.
“The Unit provided information that enabled the government benchmark prices. At that time, the Unit was headed by a Chartered Accountant with several decades of experience to his credit.
“When Dr Olusegun Mimiko became Governor, realising that, the Unit helped the government to save funds, he decentralised the Unit to three Senatorial Districts, each District headed by a Senior Special Assistant.
“There was no need for the swearing-in ceremony. PPIMU was not an approving authority under previous administrations that Akeredolu copied this practice from.”
He, however, said “When Akeredolu realised that, there was no legal framework for the appointment of a DG for PPIMU, he had to resort to Executive Order to legitimise illegality.
“Outside of its illegality, what will be the job of career civil servants in various ministries, some of who parade professional certificates? They will now all be at the mercy of a young man who has never worked anywhere all his life.
“This deliberate destruction of the civil service and humiliation of the top echelon of the political class is a time bomb that will consume the Akeredolu administration as a matter of course.”
But while reacting to PDP’s allegations, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, slammed the opposition party, saying it lacks knowledge about public governance over its attack on the Executive Order signed by the governor.
Ojogo said any idea introduced to improve and strengthen governance should be embraced saying the state cannot afford to be static and not moving with trends of changing times.
Ojogo in a statement signed by him said the PDP misfired, saying “Though it came not as a surprise, the opposition PDP’s latest misadventure in respect of an Executive Order signed by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, manifested two things: it is either gross lack of knowledge about public governance or another failed but usually warped twist to misinform the populace.
“Both inferences are uncanny even as they represent all that connotes ignorance. This response, therefore, tries to subtly educate the opposition on the essence of institutional frameworks for good governance.
“Yes, the Executive Order in reference is an official document duly signed by the governor. But was it signed with the governor’s son in mind? NO. Will PPIMU commence and end with the governor’s son? NO. Was there an institution like PPIMU as presently enunciated before now? NO. Does PPIMU form part of an enduring government legacy intended to engender and deepen good governance in tandem with the ever-changing governance environment? YES. Are there other bodies in the mould of PPIMU in various states across Nigeria? YES, of course.
“The churned mischief assaults logic; it similarly, carries the burden of a self-kill that the PDP admits the existence of such institutions under previous administrations. This is agreeable, only to the extent that indeed, Due Process Offices (what is now called the Bureau for Public Procurement) existed. Under the current administration, it still suffices with defined roles with unfettered responsibilities within its areas of operation.
“It, therefore, appears illogical to consider improvements aimed at strengthening our public governance capacities within the prism of challenged political confines. By implication, what the opposition party has said in simple terms is: “let’s remain static and not run with the changing times.”
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