By joshua 
EDO TRANSITION COMMITTEE: APC Denies Allegations Of Not Ready For A Smooth, Peaceful Transition
FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
The All Progressives Congress, APC, Transition Committee led by His Excellency, Dr. Pius Odubu ,has debunked the allegations made by the Edo State government that the committee has refused to participate in the government transition Committee.
The APC committee in a release signed by the Secretary, RT Hon (Barr) Patrick Ikhariale, denied that
the outgoing PDP administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki in Edo state has not presented the necessary documents that will enable a smooth transition process, a situation that has hindered the work of the APC Transition Committee.
The Edo State Joint Transition Committee on Wednesday accused the incoming government and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Transition Committee of raising false alarm that the Obaseki-led PDP government has not provided it with the necessary documents germane for them to function.
According to Ikhariale, despite the very cordial atmosphere of mutuality and robust engagement that characterize the inaugural meeting, information from Government Team tried to scandalise the APC Transition Committee, with outlandish claims that we were asking for Sitting Allowances and that our request for hard copies was because members of the APC Committee were not tech-savvy.
He further stated that, “We find these false claims vexatious, underwhelming, insulting, barbaric, and completely misleading. Nothing of such was discussed or raised during and after our plenary. He stated.
Stating that, at the meeting, the APC Transition Committee stated unequivocally that documents to be submitted should be in soft and hard copies for ease of reference. This position was agreed upon by both teams and the government Team gave assurances that those documents would be submitted to the APC Transition Committee before the following meeting scheduled for Monday, 21st October 2024.
He said, The APC Transition Committee wrote officially, on the 18th of October to the Government Team detailing what to provide. Despite assurances from the Government Team, the two sets of documents sent so far are scanty and vague in respect of the expected details covering the scope of the information sought.
Adding that, a Status Report is expected to cover all headings and sub-headings in the governance process especially the details of the financial commitments on the various projects, programmes and responsibilities of the government.
” The incoming government, the people of Edo State, and taxpayers deserve to know the status of affairs. We have not constituted ourselves into a probe panel. Request for information and documents should not be seen as fishing for trouble or asking for too much as this in conformity with international best practices”.
We are of the considered opinion that in line with the seamless Transition initiative, the government should be open and transparent enough to avail us the documents required to make our assignment easier without raising airs about our good intention.
He urged members of the Public to disregard the tissues of lies and misinformation by the outgoing Government of Edo State.he concluded.