The Edo State Government has dismissed as “reckless and misleading” a statement credited to the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing Governor Monday Okpebholo and his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, for abandoning their duties and mismanaging resources.

In a strongly worded response issued on Thursday, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua, described the PDP’s claims as “a desperate attempt by a failed political party to regain relevance.”

According to the statement, contrary to the opposition’s allegations, “the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, is presently in Edo State, diligently discharging his official responsibilities. The insinuation that both the Governor and his Deputy abandoned the State is a product of mischief and deliberate falsehood. At no time has Edo been left without leadership.”

The government also pushed back against PDP’s criticism of workers’ welfare, insisting that Edo remains one of the best-performing states in the country on salary matters.

“Edo is currently among the top three States in Nigeria with the highest minimum wage, at ₦75,000. This stands as clear evidence of Governor Okpebholo’s prioritisation of workers’ welfare,” Itua noted, adding that the PDP’s attempt to cite other states was “laughable and embarrassing.”

On education and healthcare, the statement shifted the blame to the immediate past administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki, under whose PDP-led government “no meaningful recruitment was carried out in the education sector for eight years” and hospitals were “left in decline.”

Itua highlighted what he called the visible turnaround efforts under Okpebholo’s nine-month-old administration. These include the reconstruction of the long-abandoned Oba Market in Benin City, road rehabilitation works such as the Benin-Abraka and Benin-Sapele roads, the construction of the Rahmat Park Flyover to ease gridlock in Benin, and the upgrade of Stella Obasanjo Hospital into a world-class facility.

Security, he said, has also been a major focus. “Governor Okpebholo’s decisive fight against cultism, kidnapping, and violent crime has already begun to yield results, restoring peace in communities that were once terrorised by criminal gangs,” the statement read.

The government further dismissed PDP’s claim that the current administration was bloated with appointments. Instead, it described the composition of the government as “strategic inclusion for effective service delivery” across all senatorial districts.

“It is deeply unfortunate that the PDP, a party cut off from the lifeline of power after eight years of monumental failure, now resorts to cheap lies and baseless propaganda to stay afloat. Rather than apologising to Edo people for years of neglect, the PDP has chosen to embarrass itself with hollow claims that collapse under the weight of facts,” Itua said.

He stressed that Governor Okpebholo’s government is still under a year old but has already set in motion reforms and projects “redefining Edo’s development trajectory.”

“We urge the public to disregard the falsehoods peddled by the PDP. Edo State is not rudderless. It is firmly on course under the purposeful leadership of Governor Monday Okpebholo and his deputy, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa,” the statement added.