Lose your constituency and be sacked, Oshiomhole tells aides!

The governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has said he recently sacked some commissioners and Special Advisers from his cabinet because their communities did not vote for the Action Congress of Nigeria in the national assembly poll.

Mr Oshiomhole, who gave the explanation at the commissioning of a water project provided for the Ekpoma community by his administration, also said the failure of the appointees to win in their communities indicated that they were not working effectively.

"Perhaps, this is the right opportunity to clarify few issues," the governor said. "It is true that I dropped two commissioners and I also dropped a number of special advisers as well as board chairmen.

The governor observed that if the affected commissioners had worked hard, their people would have voted for his party during the recently concluded national assembly election.

"I believe that when you work and work hard, the best way to measure whether your people appreciate your work is the way that they vote, that is the beauty of democracy. If people vote against you it means that you are not working hard. So if a commissioner cannot win his area, I don't need any further statement that the people have rejected him and if your people reject you, then I will drop you."

"The appointment of those commissioners was based on certain considerations. It is within the discretion of the governor to appoint and to remove.

"But the good news is that commissioners will come and go; what is permanent is the people. Commissioners don't share their salaries with their communities, they pocket it in their pockets. What the community needs is services. Whoever cannot deliver on those services would have to be excused."

'They did not perform'

According to Mr Oshiomhole, "whoever wishes to be in government must re-connect with his community".

The also refuted claims that the his action was informed by ethnic politics.

"I do not want people to confuse my decision to drop some commissioners and special advisers to mean that I have any grievances against the people."

Mr. Oshiomhole observed that the beauty of democracy was that those who want to remain in the system must work hard for their people.

Source:
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5691673-146/story.csp