The Edo State Government has reacted to a slash in the budgetary allocation to the Deputy Governor’s office in the 2024 budget.
In the 2024 budget signed into law by Governor Godwin Obaseki, N345 million was allocated to the Office of the Deputy Governor.
According to the budget, N19 billion was allocated to the Office of the State Governor while the Office of the Secretary to the State Government was allocated N8 billion and the Office of the Head of Service got N968m.
A source within the House of Assembly told Daily Trust that the reduction in the allocation to Shaibu’s office was connected to his ambition to contest the 2024 governorship election.
But in a swift reaction, the state Commissioner of Education, Chris Nehikhare, denied claims that the slash was due to his ambition to succeed his principal.
Speaking with Daily Trust, the commissioner said allocation to the deputy governor’s office was dependent on the assignment assigned to his office by the governor.
He said: “It is not a matter of slash, the deputy governor’s office or deputy governor, his function is dependent on the assignment the governor assigned to him, maybe next year, his assignment won’t be as heavy as this year.
“There is nothing in the constitution that says you should give X amount of money to the deputy governor’s office, so it is dependent on the assignment, which is assigned by the governor and determines the size of the budget to his office.”
