Former Chief Press Secretary to Edo Governor, Mr. John Mayaki, has cautioned individuals attempting to give an ethnic slant to Governor Monday Okpebholo’s recent suspension of government officials, stating that such blackmail will not succeed.
In a statement on Saturday in Abuja, Mayaki criticised those who claim the suspensions were ethnically motivated, insisting that governance cannot be dictated by blackmail or emotional manipulation.
According to him: “The Governor suspended two officials from Edo North, nakedly, Ahmed Momoh and Lawani Demain. There was no uproar suggesting that the Governor was targeting Edo North people. Similarly, another official from Edo Central, which is the governor’s own senatorial district, was affected, yet no ethnic conspiracy was alleged.
“However, as soon as a particular individual from Edo South was involved, these ethnic merchants and chauvinists immediately turned it into a tribal war, falsely claiming that the Benin people were being persecuted. This double standard is unacceptable.”
Mayaki further alleged that those spearheading this narrative are loyalists and sympathisers of former Governor Godwin Obaseki, whom he described as embittered over their political losses.
“These are people whose access to public resources has been cut off. I mean those who assumed Obaseki’s eight-year rule would last forever, forgetting that power is transient. Now, out of desperation, they have resorted to blackmail, believing it will pressure the Governor into submission,” he said.
He urged Governor Okpebholo to remain firm and exercise his authority without hesitation.
“His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, must not waver in taking decisive action whenever necessary. The ultimate responsibility for governance rests on his shoulders, and he has the constitutional power to hire and fire. No amount of emotional blackmail should deter him,” Mayaki asserted.
He also hinted on the need for a government with zero tolerance for corruption, stating that those truly interested in Edo State’s progress should support the Governor’s actions.
“We cannot develop as a state if public officials continue to see government resources as personal property. If Edo State must move forward, we must all be willing to make sacrifices rather than engage in prebendal and nepotistic politics,” Mayaki concluded.