Stakeholders reject Gov Okpebholo cabinet reshuffle in oil ministry

Some Benin stakeholders and people of Edo South under the aegis of Benin Summit group have rejected the mini cabinet reshuffle ordered by Governor Monday Okpebholo, which saw a change of guard in the state’s Ministry of Oil and Gas.

The governor on Friday announced his Chief of Staff, Gani Audu, from Edo North as the new commissioner in charge of the ministry.

However, the stakeholders and people of Edo South rejected the cabinet reshuffle, lamenting that the governor “removed our son a bona fide indigene of an oil and gas host community from the Ministry of Oil and Gas and replaced him with the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Gani Audu from Edo North.

“This decision is reckless, provocative, and a calculated insult to Edo South. In the said ministry of oil and Gas, the permanent secretary, who is the wife of the commissioner for labour, is also from Edo North,” a statement signed by Osato Idemudia, the media adviser of the Benin Summit group and people of Edo South stated.

According to him, “Let us be clear, this is not a routine reshuffle. It is a deliberate political takeover of a sensitive ministry that exists solely because oil-bearing communities in Edo South continue to endure environmental destruction, poverty, insecurity, and neglect.

“We suffer the damage; others now want to control the portfolio and the proceeds. This is structural injustice in its rawest form.”

Idemudia noted that, “By this action, the government has chosen to repeat the same divisive and tone-deaf mistake made by the Presidency in the appointment of Momoh Abubakar as Minister for Niger Delta, a decision the Edo South people loudly rejected.

“That warning was ignored. Today, the state government has chosen the same path. This is one mistake too many.
“The Oil and Gas Ministry is not a political reward, not a loyalty token, and not an extension of the Governor’s Office.

“Handing it to the Chief of Staff from Edo North is a clear message of exclusion, a statement that Edo South voices do not matter, even in matters that directly concern our land, our waters, and our future.

“We view this appointment as a gross abuse of power; a betrayal of trust and, a dangerous marginalisation of oil-producing communities.

“Let it be known that Edo South will not be silent, will not be patronised, and will not accept this humiliation. This decision will not go down well. It will be resisted politically, socially, and democratically.

“We therefore demand the immediate reversal of this appointment. Anything short of that will be interpreted as a deliberate declaration of disregard for Edo South and the Benin people.”