Apparently still smarting from for all the humiliation and indignities he was subjected to by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during electioneering ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship poll, Senator Monday Okpebholo, who was on Thursday affirmed by the Supreme Court as the duly elected governor of Edo State, has vowed to take his pound of flesh from his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki.
Shunning all entreaties to be magnanimous in victory in various congratulatory messages, Governor Okpebholo declared, “They have finished fighting us, and now I am ready to fight back and ensure that all those that cheated Edo people in the last eight years are all brought to book”.
Newsmata.com.ng reports for instance that in his congratulatory message to the governor signed by his special adviser, (Information & Strategy) Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu encouraged him “to be magnanimous in victory and rally the citizens of Edo across divides towards a singular vision of advancing the state’s development”.
The President also advised that “now that the governor has cleared the legal hurdles, it is time for him to accelerate the delivery of exceptional services and good governance to the people of Edo State, which he has already begun to do”.
But the governor, while speaking to party leaders, youths, market women, civil servants, professional bodies and groups during a victory parade on Friday, July 11, 2025 in Government House, Benin City, on his return alongside his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, from Abuja, said his administration would set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into his predecessor’s records and interrogate officials of the administration on how they governed Edo people in their eight years.
Noting that the Obaseki-led administration used consultants to run the affairs of the state while he allegedly looted the treasury dry, Governor Okpebholo revealed that while opening the books of the Edo Geographical Information System, EdoGIS, it was discovered that a consultant was hired and paid N6 billion and an additional N2 billion for “ordinary software.”
The governor also queried how “A university in this state received N47 million under Obaseki’s administration, while he paid consultant N51 million”, stressing that “This was not good enough. They wanted to continue with this act, but God helped us to push them out”.
He said his administration had developed its own software for EdoGIS and the consultant sent packing.
“I directed training of our own people who are now handling the job. We have sent the consultant away from the state, saving money to develop Edo State.
“Our civil servants are well trained. We have the best brains in the State, but Godwin Obaseki used consultants instead of utilizing the human resources in the State. We are saving money today as a government because we are using the civil servants to do the jobs consultants were formerly doing.
“We are just about eight months in office, but by the time we are two years in office, Edo people will know they have a Governor who is ready to work for the interest of the people.”
Thanking God for his victory at the Supreme Court, Okpebholo said it was time to work, promising that in the next two years, Edo people would know that they have a Governor.
Governor Okpebholo thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who he said stood his ground and ensured the right thing was done, adding that he would ensure that the people of Edo State enjoyed the dividends of democracy under his leadership as President of Nigeria.
According to him, “Since I came into the office, I have not sacked anybody but rather continue with the civil servants I met in the office. The Head of Service during Obaseki’s administration is still working with me. So also with a lot of Permanent Secretaries in the civil service”.
Emphasising that Edo was tired of “transactional people”, Okpebholo vowed that “now, we will look into their records. I will take two years out of eight years, and Edo people will see the difference. We will set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the books and dealings of the previous administration. We will open interrogation to check their records”.
Taunting his main rival, Asue Ighodalo and the PDP, Governor Okpebholo said, “They were looking for judges to bribe or buy, but they could not find any. They kept money for election as well as court cases, but God disappointed them. The people voted for me as their Governor, and the various courts affirmed the mandate. The Supreme Court judgement is the final as the five judges ruled in my favour.”
His deputy, Dennis Idahosa, who was also visibly elated, commended the governor for helping the party win the various stages of the court cases, stating that it was now time to be focused and work for Edo people.
Also speaking, the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, thanked God for the victory, positing that this is the time to work as Edo people would be grateful for voting for Senator Monday Okpebholo as their Governor.