By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki has explained why he has not constituted his cabinet over six months after he was sworn in for second term.

The delay, he said, is due to the restructuring of the Civil Service for efficiency.

He also said he was consulting with wards and local governments in the State to submit nominees for appointment into the cabinet.

Governor Obaseki spoke to State House Correspondents after a meeting with Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He said: “Well, you see I spent the first four years as governor. So, I know what the challenges of governance are. We spent the last six months trying to restructure process of government, particularly the civil service because no matter how great a cabinet is, if the government and the functions of government are not operating properly, the executive cannot function optimally.

“So, the last six months, we’ve tried to redefine the structures of governance, working through every layer of the civil service, define the roles, the responsibilities, trying to understand the resources available, and put in place key performance indicators and scorecards for every MDA in government.

“And this we did, such that the civil servants have no excuse to say they couldn’t do what they’re doing because of political interference.

“So, we’ve tried to keep politics out of government in the last seven months, to redefine the processes to define the structures and define the service delivery criteria for government.

“Now that we have done that, we now hired a whole crop of civil and public servants. We have about 1500 of them, we have hired, and we’re introducing technology.

“We have, perhaps one of the best training facilities in the country. And we are now ready for the political class, for the commissioners, to now step into government and do what they’re supposed to do and give political direction to the process of government.”

On when he will submit the nominees, he said: “Well, as I speak, as I speak, I have mandated wards, local governments to give me nominations.

“The nominations are coming in from the wards and the local governments. And the selection team is being put place to screen these candidates for submission to maybe before passing to the state House of Assembly.”