The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticized the first year of Governor Monday Okpebholo‘s administration, describing it as a year of drift, decline, and deceit. The party accused the government of squandering opportunities and reversing the state’s progress.
In a statement released in Benin City on Thursday, November 13, 2025, signed by party chairman Tony Aziegbemi, the PDP claimed the past twelve months were characterized by policy paralysis, economic stagnation, and a breakdown of institutional order.
The opposition party stated, “Edo has suffered wasted opportunities under accidental leadership, where governance has been reduced to emotion and propaganda rather than policy and vision.”
The PDP expressed concerns over the breakdown of due process, noting Edo had no functioning cabinet for several months. When a cabinet was eventually formed, it comprised “recycled aides without focus or coherence.”
The party alleged that contracts are now awarded in secrecy, tender boards have been sidelined, and merit has been disregarded.
“The government now operates like a personal fiefdom, driven by emotion, not policy,” Aziegbemi said.
Economic Stagnation and Fiscal Recklessness
On the economy, the PDP criticized the Okpebholo administration for failing to initiate meaningful capital projects in one year. It described ongoing flyover projects as “ill-thought-out ventures designed to siphon public funds.”
The statement noted that while former Governor Godwin Obaseki received ₦154 billion within ten months in 2024, Governor Okpebholo received ₦236 billion within the same period in 2025, yet without visible progress.
“No single new capital project has been initiated. Existing ones have been abandoned. Local governments owe salaries, pensioners remain unpaid, and investor confidence has collapsed,” the party stated, adding that Edo’s economic rating had “nosedived under a government that lacks direction.”
The party also accused the administration of dismantling one of Obaseki’s key reforms, the Edo Geographic Information Service (EdoGIS), which brought transparency and order to land administration.
“For almost a year, no Certificates of Occupancy have been signed, leaving investors stranded and property owners trapped,” the statement read.
It claimed that while Obaseki’s government signed about 1,000 Certificates of Occupancy monthly, the Okpebholo administration managed only 25 in its first year.
The PDP lamented the deterioration of Benin City, stating the state capital now “sinks under filth and neglect.”
According to the statement, streetlights have gone off, roads are collapsing, and public infrastructure has been abandoned.
“The once-structured environment has given way to photo-ops and political ceremonies,” it said.
Education and Human Capital in Decline
The party criticized the state government for dismantling the EdoBEST education model introduced by the Obaseki administration. It said teachers were no longer being trained, digital learning had disappeared from schools, and scholarship programs had been scrapped.
“Even the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Iguoriakhi, which once stood as a model of revival, has been abandoned by this clueless government,” the PDP chairman stated.
Health, Social Services and Local Government Breakdown
The PDP described the state’s healthcare system as being in “total disrepair.”
It noted that primary health centers were starved of funds, while specialist hospitals struggled to survive.
According to the party, the Edo State Health Insurance Scheme has been abandoned, the Stella Obasanjo Hospital left to rot, and the dialysis machines at the Edo Specialist Hospital have not functioned for months.
The PDP also alleged that local governments were “administratively comatose,” with elected chairmen sacked and replaced by “loyal placeholders” while revenues were allegedly cornered at Government House.
The opposition party said the only active arm of the Okpebholo administration was its propaganda machinery.
“Rather than build, they spend taxpayers’ money attacking perceived enemies, Obaseki, the PDP, journalists, and civic voices,” Aziegbemi said.
He challenged the governor’s media team to name “five verifiable achievements in one year,” insisting that Edo people had nothing to celebrate after twelve months.
Visionless Leadership and Return of Godfatherism
The PDP accused the administration of lacking direction and succumbing to external control. It described the 2025 state budget as a “copy-and-paste document” without review or clear policy focus.
“Edo has been recaptured by external handlers, reversing the people’s victory over godfatherism,” the statement said.
“This is not democracy, it is political recolonisation.”
Commenting on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), the PDP said the dispute was needless and politically motivated.
It explained that the project was conceived by Governor Obaseki as a cultural and economic initiative aimed at diversifying the economy through tourism and job creation.
“Governor Obaseki had the good of the greater number of Edo people in mind when he conceptualised MOWAA. Museums are not profit-making ventures; they create value by attracting tourists, who spend money on hotels, transportation, and local businesses,” the statement read.
The party noted that cities like Paris, New York, and London have hundreds of museums and argued that Benin City, with its rich history and larger landmass, should not be struggling over one.
The party said that while Obaseki could point to tangible legacies, including power plants, refineries, educational institutions, and digital infrastructure, Okpebholo’s first year had produced little beyond “photo-ops and flyovers.”
It said projects such as the Greenhill Ethanol Plant, Azura and Ossiomo power plants, Edo Modular Refinery, Edo Tech Park, and the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy were testament to Obaseki’s focus on productivity and human capital development.
By contrast, the party accused Okpebholo of attending summits abroad “without a single investment to show” and ordering commissioners “to wear occultic caps” at council meetings.
‘Edo Has Returned to the Age of Confusion’
In its closing remarks, the PDP declared that the Okpebholo administration had dragged the state back to “the pre-Obaseki era of ignorance and propaganda.”
“In one year, Monday Okpebholo has taken Edo from the age of progress back to the age of confusion,” the statement read. “But Edo people are awake, and history will not forgive this season of waste.”
