Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, Edo PDP State Chairman
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State on Thursday issued a counter scorecard of the achievements of the one-year administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo, reducing them to ” Award of flyovers just to siphon funds, attending an economic summit in Glasgow, Scotland without a dime coming into the state, and ordering commissioners to wear alleged “occultic caps” or else be sent out of the state executive council meetings.
Describing Governor Okpebholo’s leadership as “accidental, the PDP said, “the verdict is clear: it has been a year of wasted opportunity, policy paralysis, and institutional regression”.
At a press conference addressed by the state chairman of the party, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, the PDP lamented that “In one year, Monday Okpebholo has taken Edo from the age of progress back to the age of confusion”, positing that “history will not forgive this season of waste.”
Newsmata.com.ng reports that the commissioner for information and strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, however fired back, describing the PDP as “Chief promoters of Obubuyaya style of politics, where they claimed to have turned Edo to El Dorado, only to be exposed that they actually plundered the state”.
Aziegbemi, in his address titled “One Year Of Drift, Decline And Deceit”, noted that while other states are consolidating reforms, driving innovation, and expanding growth, “Edo has tragically returned to the pre-Obaseki era – an age defined by ignorance, propaganda, and prebendal politics”.
Giving a sector-by-sector analysis of Okpebholo’s performance, the PDP alleged collapse of governance and institutional order citing the absence of a functioning cabinet in the state for months, stressing that “When finally constituted, it became an over-bloated team of recycled aides without vision or coherence”.
“Due process has completely eroded – contracts are awarded in secrecy, as there is no tenders board, merit has been discarded, and the government now operates like a personal fiefdom, driven by emotion, not policy”, the party stated.
Aziegbemi also alleged that the state had witnessed “economic stagnation and fiscal recklessness”, alleging that no single new capital project had been initiated, “apart from ill thought-out flyovers, contracts awarded just to siphon money”, while existing ones have reportedly been abandoned.
“Local governments owe salaries; pensioners and contractors remain unpaid. Investor confidence has collapsed, and Edo’s economic rating has nosedived. While for 10 months in 2024, Gov. Obaseki received 154 billion, Gov. Okpebholo received 236 billion.
The PDP accused the administration of having destroyed the Edo Geographic Information System (EdoGIS) and Land Administration, which he described as a flagship reform that brought order and transparency to land administration.
While claiming in one breath that no certificate of occupancy (C Of O) had been signed in one year, he said on the other hand that only 25 had been signed.
“For almost a year, no Certificates of Occupancy have been signed, leaving investors stranded and property owners trapped. This failure has crippled private investment and reignited land disputes across the state. A 1000 C-Of-Os were signed monthly under the former administration, while only 25 have been signed in 365 days of Okpebholo’s Administration”.
Alleging infrastructure and urban decay, the PDP stated that “Benin City is sinking under filth. Streetlights are dead, roads are collapsing, the once-structured Infrastructure has been abandoned for photo-ops and political ceremonies”.
Education and Human Capital Decline
Amid claim of education and human capital decline, PDP is pained that it’s “celebrated EdoBEST education model has been gutted.
“Teachers are untrained, schools are deteriorating, and digital learning has vanished. Scholarship programmes have been scrapped, and universities now suffer political interference that undermines autonomy and quality.
“For example, the college of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Iguoriakhi, has been abandoned by this clueless government. You are invited to take a tour of this facility.
Bemoaning the alleged breakdown of health, social services, and Local Government, Aziegbemi stated that primary health centres are starved of funding; Specialist Hospitals are struggling. Local governments are administratively comatose — elected Chairmen sacked and replaced by loyal placeholders, while revenues are cornered at Government House. Edo State Health Insurance scheme has been abandoned by this government, Stella Obasanjo’s hospital been abandoned, the 3-dialysis equipment in Edo Specialist Hospital has been abandoned”.
Sympathising with Edo people for enduring “the weight of an absentee government”, the PDP accused the APC-led administration of governing by propaganda and division, taunting Okpebholo that “The only vibrant department in this government is propaganda. Rather than build, they spend taxpayers’ money attacking perceived enemies — Obaseki, the PDP, journalists, and civic voices”.
While challenging the Okpebholo media team to name five of his verifiable achievements in one year, Aziegbemi described the PDP as Edo’s “only organised, policy-driven, and people-centred platform”, which he insisted is “committed to continuity of reforms, digital governance, security coordination, and inclusive development. We call on all Edo citizens, civil society, and the media to join hands in restoring direction, dignity, and development to governance.
On the raging controversy over the Museum of West African Art, (MOWAA) the PDP described the controversy as “totally uncalled for”, emphasising that “Gov. Obaseki had the good of the greater number of EDOLITES in mind when he conceptualised MOWAA.
“There are 136 museums in Paris with 105 square kilometers landmass and Benin with 1,204 square kilometers landmass should be having at least 500 museums. We should not be struggling over one museum.
“Museums are not profit-making ventures. It is the value added from tourists visiting and spending monies on hotels, transport and gifts that the state benefits from increased revenues”.
Tackling the PDP, Afegbua said they are used to “lies, deep in deceit, soaked in liquor, and psychedelic in emanation”, contending that “Responding to PDP is like watching bunch of comedians looking for spectators. We are too busy to be distracted by the rantings of such political party with dithering nomenclature”.
According to commissioner, “PDP has since become a party in extinction, enabled by some turncoat politicians riddled with over-bloated ego and crass ignorance about positive governance”.
Further taking a swipe at the PDP, Afegbua “We are not pretenders like them or economic predators who pillaged Edo resources like famished baboons let loose into banana plantation.
“We are delivering on our promises and making sure there is value for money. From flyover to roads infrastructure, from schools’ repairs to primary health care projects, Governor Okpebholo has turned Edo into a construction site, but those PDP and their coupon clippers who are used to Obubuyaya type of projects, driven by propaganda, cannot rationalise good governance when they see one”.