In a surprising turn of events, the Edo State House of Assembly has received a letter from the state government requesting a revision of the 2024 budgetary allocation for the office of the State Deputy Governor. This comes five months after the initial budget was reduced from N1.3 billion to N354.5 million.
The letter, dated May 16, 2024, was sent by Governor Godwin Obaseki and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku. The document, titled ‘Forwarding of the revised year 2024 Edo State budget’, was signed by Osarodion Ogie, Secretary to the State Government, and read aloud by the Clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, during a plenary session.
The letter states: “I write on the instance of the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki to forward herewith 30 copies of the Year 2024 Revised Edo State Budget for consideration and approval of the Honourable House.”
The proposed budget revision aims to increase the allocation to the Office of the Deputy Governor, now held by Marvelous Godwins Omobayo. This follows a reduction in the budget on December 26, 2023, amid a disagreement between Obaseki and his then-deputy, Phillip Shaibu, who has since been impeached.
Speaker Agbebaku had previously defended the budget cut, arguing that Shaibu, who is expected to run for governor in 2024, would not be performing many functions in his role as Deputy Governor. She stated, “The Deputy Governor doesn’t have constitutional functions bestowed on him except those which are allocated to him by Mr. Governor.”
She further explained that the allocation reflects the office’s responsibilities and that the Governor had reassigned most of Shaibu’s duties to other offices due to his political aspirations. She added, “The Deputy Governor has even complained that he is no longer working. If you are not working, why allocate money to the office?”
This situation underscores the complexities of political office and the impact of personal ambitions on the effective functioning of government roles.
