Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has accused his immediate past Chief of Staff, Taiwo Akerele of blackmailing him.
Akerele had on Saturday tendered his resignation letter to Obaseki citing “administrative and governance grounds,” as his reasons for quitting the cabinet.
However, 24 hours later, the ex-CoS accused his estranged ex-principal of using state actors, the Department of State service, DSS, to hound him.
He said at the governor’s instigation, men of the DSS invaded his 1st Ugbor Road residence at Benin GRA arrested his personal assistant, Jaspa Olowojoba, his security man, domestic staff and carted away his children’s birth certificates.
But Obaseki in a rebuttal by his information commissioner, Mr Paul Ohonbamu, said Akerele’s allegation smacks of blackmailing the governor in an interview with newsmen adding that his principal has moved on following the appointment of Osaze Uzamere as the new Chief of Staff.
Ohonbamu said: “To Gov. Godwin Obaseki, Taiwo Akerele is in the past and his replacement in less than 24 hours bears testimony to this. His allegation that the governor is after him smacks of blackmail and it is a new low in all the efforts to disparage the governor.”
