Edo’s first year under APC ‘a lost year,’ PDP blast Okepbholo

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, describing his first year in office as “a lost year marked by drift and collapse of governance.”

Addressing journalists on Thursday in Benin, the State PDP Chairman, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of plunging Edo into what he called “a season of confusion, waste, and deceit.”

Aziegbemi alleged that in the past one year, contracts were awarded with complimentary cards instead of through due process, adding that the state has operated without a functional tenders board.

“No single new capital project has been initiated except for some ill-conceived flyover contracts designed to siphon public funds,” the PDP boss declared.

He further alleged that while former Governor Godwin Obaseki received ₦154 billion in ten months in 2024, Okpebholo’s government has already collected ₦236 billion within the same period this year — “with nothing tangible on ground to justify it.”

“For several months, Edo State had no cabinet. And when one was finally constituted, it became a bloated crowd of recycled aides with no vision, no plan, and no focus,” he said.

Aziegbemi also accused the governor of wrecking one of Obaseki’s key reforms — the Edo Geographic Information Service (EdoGIS), claiming that for nearly a year, no Certificates of Occupancy have been signed, a development he said has scared off investors and reignited land disputes.

“This government has crippled the very institutions that made Edo a model of digital governance. The state is on autopilot,” he stated.

But in a swift rebuttal, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, laughed off the PDP’s claims, calling them “a comedy of lies from a desperate opposition.”

“Responding to PDP is like watching a bunch of comedians looking for spectators,” Afegbua quipped. We are too busy working for the people to be distracted by their childish rantings,” he said.

Afegbua maintained that Governor Okpebholo’s administration is firmly focused on rebuilding Edo, creating jobs, and restoring transparency in governance.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE