Edo PDP, Govt Bicker Over Okpebholo’s Performance

BENIN CITY—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo State, yesterday, said it has assessed the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo in the past three months and passed a no-performance vote in it, saying that the people of the state have been suffering across all sectors.

But in a swift reaction, the Commissioner for Information and Communication described the claim of the PDP as absolute falsehood.

Addressing newsmen in Benin City, the Chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Dr Tony Aziegbemi said the state has experienced alarming retrogression in the past three months under the Okpebholo administration.

Aziegbemi said: “From education where Edo has taken a notorious back seat, ranking least on the list of States with top priority and budgetary allocations for the sector to the health sector, where even the most basic medical consumables are unavailable, to security, economy infrastructure, power, and technology, among others.

“These setbacks are even more disheartening given the unprecedented progress the State witnessed over the last eight years under the immediate past government of Mr Godwin Obaseki.”

On security, Dr Aziegbemi noted that the primary responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and property of citizens, adding that “and in this regard, we can categorically say that the Okpebolo government has failed woefully.”

He said: “From Edo South to Edo Central to Edo North, killings and violent attacks have become rampant. The State, which was repositioned as one of Nigeria’s safest places to live and do business during the Godwin Obaseki-led administration, has now become so unsafe, gaining a notorious reputation as the capital of kidnapping and violent crimes, as kidnappers and other criminals now see it as a haven, the weakest link in the country’s security framework. Meanwhile, the supposed Chief Security Officer of the State stands dazed, overwhelmed, clueless, and utterly incapable of managing the worsening insecurity that has continued to claim the lives of innocent citizens almost daily.

“In October 2024, during the final days of the Obaseki government, Edo’s monthly IGR stood at approximately N8 billion. Today, under Okpebholo, the state is struggling with barely N3 billion monthly.

“In the last month alone, Edo State lost N1.3 billion in revenue. According to the recently released IGR report for February, revenue plummeted from N4.7 billion in January to N3.4 billion in February.

“We are also aware that in his first week in office, Okpebholo allegedly lavished over N5bn from the State’s coffers to acquire a new fleet of ultra-modern armoured SUVs, while gifting the new armoured SUVs which were procured for his government by Obaseki.

PDP’s Claim Absolute Falsehood —Edo Govt

Reacting to the allegations by the PDP, the state government, which spoke through the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Paul Ohonbamu said: “In January, the Internally Generated Revenue rose to N10.4 billion and it is increasing. Under Obaseki, the highest they got was N7.8 billion.

“Under Obaseki, members of the Edo Security Network were not being paid salaries. They only gave them guns which some of them used to perpetrate crimes as most of them were cultists.

“The Okpebholo administration mopped up over 5000 guns and has re-organised the Security Corps as well as provided over 60 vehicles and hundreds of motorbikes for security agencies in the State to fight crimes.”