By Emmanuel Abi Couson
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State Chapter, wishes to alert Edo people, Nigerians, and the Federal Government to the ongoing, coordinated and increasingly reckless campaign of calumny, provocation, distortion and hostility being orchestrated by the Edo State Government under Senator Monday Okpebholo and his cohort of overbearing APC godfathers.
In a statement signed by
DAN Osa-Ogbegie, Esq.
Publicity Secretary, Edo State PDP, the party berated the APC government of chasing shadows.
The statement reads : “For months, the APC-led administration has deliberately sought to bait, distract and tarnish former Governor Godwin Obaseki, a leader who served Edo State with transparency, prudence, institutional reform and clarity of purpose. This lingering resentment stems from Obaseki’s principled refusal to surrender Edo’s resources to private pockets — a tradition entrenched under their former leader, Adams Oshiomhole, but courageously halted by Obaseki.
DESTRUCTION OF OBASEKI’S LEGACY PROJECTS: A POLITICAL VENDETTA DISGUISED AS GOVERNANCE
Instead of governing responsibly, the Okpebholo administration has spent its early months dismantling, undermining or frustrating the legacy projects and institutional gains of the Obaseki era. Edo people have watched, with disbelief, as the following acts of sabotage have unfolded:
1. Attacks on Saro Farms in Orhionmwon and Ovia
The hostility, disruptions and reported destruction of Saro Farms — one of the largest agricultural investments attracted under Obaseki — constitute a devastating blow to investor confidence. The pattern of intimidation suggests a coordinated action believed to be sponsored by elements in the Edo State Government and their APC backers. It is a direct assault on the agricultural revolution Obaseki championed.
2. Suspension and Discrediting of the Benin Enterprise Park
This landmark industrialisation project, conceptualised and advanced under Obaseki, was mindlessly suspended and publicly disparaged for no reason other than APC’s inability to tolerate any developmental legacy tied to him.
3. Hostility to the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA)
Rather than sustain Edo’s rising global cultural profile, the government encouraged toxic narratives and reckless actions culminating in the disgraceful security collapse that allowed hoodlums to invade a facility hosting foreign diplomats. This was a calculated attempt to stain Obaseki’s globally celebrated cultural reforms.
4. Reversal of EdoGIS and Digital Land Reforms
The digital transparency that sanitised Edo’s opaque land administration has been rolled back, returning the state to an era of racketeering, political land seizures and institutional opacity.
5. Reversal of Civil Service Reforms
The vibrant, merit-driven and digitalised civil service Obaseki built is being dragged back to the days of drudgery, corruption, bottlenecks and lethargy. Promotions, assessments and workflows have reverted to patronage and paper-based inefficiency.
6. Attempted Destruction of Educational Gains Under EdoBEST
EdoBEST, a globally celebrated basic education model that lifted Edo pupils from learning poverty to national and international acclaim, is being sabotaged through political interference, anti-merit appointments and a return to outdated teaching practices.
7. Attacks on the Agricultural Investment Pipeline
From the Presco land scandal to the intimidation of investors across the state, the APC-led government is systematically attacking the progress that made Edo Nigeria’s most promising agro-industrial hub.
These are not acts of governance.
They are acts of vendetta, bitterness and political vandalism.
OBASEKI HAS REFUSED TO BE DRAGGED INTO THEIR PETTY POLITICS
Despite persistent provocations, Godwin Obaseki has maintained dignity and restraint.
He has refused to descend into insults and mudslinging perfected by Okpebholo and his handlers.
Instead, he has engaged Edo indigenes in the diaspora, giving honest accounts of stewardship — without once referencing the Okpebholo administration, whose operations are remote-controlled by bitter god fathers outside Osadebe Avenue.
The APC is angry because Obaseki still commands global respect.
They are enraged because he speaks to Edo people across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa about achievements they cannot dispute.
Their attacks only expose their insecurity.
A GOVERNMENT RUN BY GODFATHERS, NOT GOVERNANCE
Edo people know who truly controls the Okpebholo administration.
Every major decision is supervised by the same figures who demanded unfettered access to Edo’s treasury during previous APC administrations. Their grievance remains unchanged: Obaseki refused to share Edo’s revenues and insisted that public funds serve the people, not predatory political interests.
OBASEKI: A TOP-PERFORMING GOVERNOR IN EDO HISTORY
It must be boldly stated that the preponderance of Edo people recognise Godwin Obaseki as one of the finest Governors in the history of the state — standing shoulder to shoulder with the legendary Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia and Prof. Ambrose Alli.
His achievements cut across all three senatorial districts:
Infrastructure
Over 500 roads constructed or rehabilitated
Opening of new corridors across Benin City, Esan, Owan and rural communities
Comprehensive renewal of public buildings and government facilities
Completion and modernisation of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and associated sports infrastructure
Education
Pioneering EdoBEST revolution — now studied globally
Large-scale teacher retraining and digitalisation
Rehabilitation of hundreds of schools across all LGAs
Civil Service and Governance
Nigeria’s most modernised state civil service
Digital workflow, e-governance, and merit-based promotions
Judicial autonomy, new court complexes and strengthened justice institutions
Agriculture and Industry
Attraction of Saro Farms, Dufil, Elephant Group and numerous agro-industrial investors
Development of the Benin Enterprise Park
Internationally recognised Edo Oil Palm Programme (EPP)
Health and Social Welfare
Upgrade and expansion of Stella Obasanjo Hospital
Strengthened primary healthcare centres across the state
Expansion of Edo Health Insurance Scheme
Social welfare support for vulnerable households
Energy and Digital Economy
Successful partnership with Ossiomo Power, delivering stable electricity to government buildings, hospitals, courts and street lighting
Digital economy initiatives that positioned Edo as a rising tech hub
Establishment of technology training programmes for youth
Culture and Tourism
The groundbreaking MOWAA development
Boost to film, arts and the creative economy
International cultural partnerships that placed Edo on the world map
Finance and Economy
Transparent budgeting and anti-corruption systems
Zero tolerance for reckless borrowing
Digitalisation of IGR collection, closing loopholes and raising Edo’s revenues to historic highs
These are the legacies the APC is desperately trying to destroy.
A CALL TO PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU
As provocations escalate, the PDP calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rein in his party members in Edo.
The conduct of Monday Okpebholo and his handlers is overheating the polity and may precipitate a seismic conflagration if not immediately curtailed.
Their politics is driven by bitterness, not service; vendetta, not vision.
THE PDP STANDS WITH GODWIN OBASEKI
For the avoidance of doubt:
The PDP stands solidly, unequivocally and unapologetically with Mr Godwin Obaseki.
We will not allow his legacy to be undermined by those who contributed nothing to Edo’s progress.
We stand with him because he governed with courage, protected Edo’s treasury, Edo’s people and resisted the predatory demands of political godfathers.
History will vindicate him.
Edo people already have.”
