PDP Condemns Akeredolu’s Executive Order On Son’s Appointment
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has kicked against the Executive Order signed by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, giving legal backing to his son’s appointment, Babajide, as Director General, Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU).
It said the Executive Order signed by Governor Akeredolu mandated All MDAs of Ondo State Government to process approvals for projects through the Impact Assurance Process of PPIMU.
The Ondo PDP said the Order was to cover for the incompetence and lack of experience of Akeredolu’s son to discharge responsibilities demanded by the office by making provision for recruitment of professionals in various categories to be recruited from within and outside of the civil service.
Spokesman for the Ondo PDP, Kennedy Peretei, in a statement, alleged that Akeredolu secretly signed the Executive Order because of the implications for his administration.
Peretei stated that the resort to Executive Order was after Governor Akeredolu realised that there was no legal framework for the appointment of a DG for PPIMU.
He said the Order has finally reduced Ondo Commissioners to submit projects from their Ministries for approval to the Governor’s son, who would in turn depend on “professional Corp of officers” to give such approvals before Governor appends his signature with the red pen.
According to him: “Governance has never been reduced to such a laughable extent in the history of the state.
“Outside of its illegality, what will be the job of career civil servants in various ministries, some of whom 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 Ondo Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, described the statement as a manifestation of gross lack of knowledge about public governance or another failed but usually warped twist to misinform the populace.
Ojogo explained that the Executive Order was not signed because of Babajide but because PPIMU formed part of an enduring Government legacy intended to engender and deepen good governance in tandem with the ever changing governance environment.
He stated that the state government has set a marketable standard for Peer Review with the PPIMU serving as a warehouse for quality service, excellence and efficiency,
According to him, “We cannot afford to play the ostrich in an ever changing and dynamic world.
“As a responsible government, we will not solve today’s problems, especially in public governance, with yesterday’s solutions. 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.
“The public, especially the Ondo State Public Service is enjoined to ignore the fruitless effort of the PDP at incitement. They misfired.
“A political party that does not know the difference between ‘process for approvals through’ and ‘seek approval from’ has no business in the affairs of men.”
