I will not participate in national politics – Obaseki on life after Governorship

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has revealed that he will not be taking part in national politics after the end of his tenure in some month when his successor takes office.

The Governor made this known during an interview with Vanguard newspapers as he spoke on a host of issues bordering on the state of the nation and his political career.

Obaseki stated that the country needed redesigning rather than restructuring as he said the current design was out of date and not working optimally.

When asked if he’d quit politics after being Governor for 8 years, Obaseki stated that he wouldn’t but that he wouldn’t be part of any national assignments.

He said:

“I will not say I am done with politics because, having led people, they will always look up to you but whether I will go for a national assignment with the structure of Nigeria today, I will not. I will only join any group of people who want to reform and change the political structure of this country.”

He explained his rationale for the decision as he broke down what he believed are limitations to the current pattern of things.

“We will participate in the change from different dimensions. I would not want to go and sit in the Senate and say we are sitting to amend the constitution which will not be possible because it will negatively affect us, as we are today, who does that? I do not know how it will work, but clearly, the system is not moving us forward.To give you an example, one of the challenges we have here is the civil service, the more we drive down because we are carrying out huge surgical reforms, and you cannot digitize if you do not back the processes.“Now, the civil service we have is a British-mold civil service that supports a parliamentary system, we have not adapted this civil service to the kind of presidential system we have now chosen. Civil servants have confidence in a parliamentary system but don’t know when the government will end.A permanent secretary is there to hold office, look at a years ago, how many prime ministers we had in England- about three in a short space of time, it did not affect the state, the government kept running, but under a presidential system, you know when the chief executive officer will come in, and the day he will leave.Therefore, he is there, and he has to reign, so you cannot tell me you are permanent, I will sack you if I do not think you can help me to deliver; those are some of the contradictions I saw in this system.” He said.