The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday, accused the State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, of signing an Executive Order to provide a legal cover for the appointment of his son, Babajide, as Director-General of Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit.
Babajide was recently appointed as the Director-General of the PPIMU, an agency, newly created by the governor.
It was alleged, in a statement issued by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei, that the governor had just signed the executive order. The statement was titled, ‘Akeredolu’s misrule in Ondo State (14): signs executive order to make son approving authority to all MDAs.’
According to the statement, the Executive Order amongst other provisions stated that all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of Ondo State Government should process approvals for projects through the Impact Assurance Process of PPIMU.
The Order also stated, “The operational Head of the PPIMU, appointed by Ondo State Governor, shall be the Director-General/Special Adviser and shall be supported by a professional corp of officers in various categories to be recruited from within and outside of the civil service.”
The statement read in part, “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 the 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 the Almighty Mr Governor appends his signature. Governance has never been reduced to such a laughable extent in the history of the state.
“When Mr Governor realised that there was no legal framework for the appointment of a DG for PPIMU, he had to resort to an Executive Order to legitimise illegality. Outside of this illegality, what would be the job of career civil servants in various ministries, some of whom paraded professional certificates? They would now all be at the mercy of a young man who had never worked anywhere all his life.
“This deliberate destruction of the civil service and the humiliation of the top echelon of the political class is a time bomb that will consume the Akeredolu administration as a matter of course.”
However, the state government, in a swift reaction from the State Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo, said the PDP allegation showed their gross lack of knowledge about public governance or another failed but usually warped twist to misinform the populace.
While denying the allegation of the PDP, Ojogo said there was a need to educate the opposition party on the essence of institutional frameworks for governance.
He stated, “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 the PPIMU commence and end with the Governor’s son? NO. Was there an institution like the 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 mold of the 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.
“As a responsible government, we will not solve today’s problems, especially in public governance, with yesterday’s solutions. The PPIMU has come to stay. It is not the baby of an individual. It is an initiative to drive service delivery and enhance efficiency in public service.
“It must be noted too, that, with the PPIMU serving as a warehouse for quality service, excellence, and efficiency, the government has set a marketable standard for peer review. We cannot afford to play the ostrich in an ever-changing and dynamic world.”
