The Edo State government has taken umbrage at a viral social media publication by Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, a former commissioner in the immediate past administration of Godwin Obaseki in which he accused Governor Monday Okpebholo of residing mostly in Abuja while manipulating contract awards from there, and having held only three executive council meetings since the inception of his administration about eight months ago.
Dismissing the publication as baseless, malicious and defamatory against the governor and his cabinet members and intended to bring them into disrepute, the state government, through its Ministry of Justice, has demanded from Ifaluyi-Isibor a retraction and apology within 24 hours or face criminal and legal actions.
Ifaluyi-Isibor is an engineer and former federal lawmaker who represented the Egor/Ikpoba Okha Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He served as commissioner for Digital Economy under the immediate past Godwin Obaseki’s administration.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that in an official letter signed by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Samson Osagie, dated June 8, 2025, the state government condemned the viral post circulated on June 6, 2025, alleging irregularities and incompetence within the administration.
The controversial post reportedly claimed that the state government had only held three Executive Council meetings in eight months and accused the Governor of residing mostly in Abuja while manipulating contract awards from the capital.
Ifaluyi-Isibor also alleged that state funds were being saved to pay for a Supreme Court judgement, referencing past contracts initiated by the previous administration.
Dr. Osagie dismissed the claims as “completely false,” emphasising that Governor Okpebholo’s administration, which is not yet eight months old, had convened several Executive Council meetings, resulting in key developmental decisions, including ongoing flyover projects in Benin City.
The government further accused Ifaluyi-Isibor of criminal defamation and warned that it would take both civil and criminal legal action if a public retraction and apology were not made within 24 hours.
The demanded apology, he insisted, must be published across all social media platforms and in at least one national newspaper.
According to Dr. Osagie, “This publication amounts to criminal defamation. We intend to proceed against you through the security agencies for you to prove the criminal allegations you have made.”
The attorney-general warned that the government would not condone misinformation and perceived attempts to undermine its credibility, particularly as political attention intensifies ahead of the 2027 general elections.