The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted Governor Monday Okpebholo-led administration, saying the state has recorded a year of governance without vision, policy direction or a coherent development framework.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, the party said one year after assuming office, the Edo State Government had failed to articulate any clear governing philosophy, development blueprint or sectoral roadmap by which citizens could measure performance.
According to the PDP, “there is no published agenda against which citizens can assess outcomes, no defined priorities and no policy framework guiding governance.”
The party said what Edo people have witnessed instead was “drift, reactionary governance, policy inconsistency, propaganda without substance, and a steady erosion of democratic and institutional norms painstakingly built over the last eight years.”
The PDP said the absence of direction was laid bare by what it described as an embarrassing budget presentation by the governor.
The party alleged that despite weeks of reported dependence on consultants, the governor struggled through the presentation, which it said lacked clarity, coherence and real-time engagement.
The PDP Chairman in Edo State, Tony Aziegbemi, stressed that a budget was not a ceremonial exercise.
“A budget is not a ceremonial ritual. It is the clearest statement of a government’s vision, priorities, and competence,” Aziegbemi said.
He added, “A Governor who cannot confidently present his own budget, in real time, betrays a fundamental lack of ownership, preparedness, and capacity to govern.”
Overbloated Cabinet, Shrinking Governance
The opposition party also criticised what it described as an overbloated State Executive Council, alleging that appointments had increased without corresponding improvements in governance outcomes.
According to the PDP, the cabinet now functions “more as a patronage warehouse than a policy-driven executive,” noting that while titles have expanded, service delivery has contracted across the state.
Raising concerns over local government administration, the PDP said Edo State remained one of the few states in the country without a single elected Local Government Chairman.
The party alleged that duly elected chairmen were removed through executive action rather than any lawful or constitutional process.
The party further stated that seven local government areas, Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, Uhunmwode, Orhionmwon, Akoko-Edo, Etsako West and Etsako Central, had secured valid High Court judgments restoring their elected chairmen.
Despite these rulings, the PDP accused the Okpebholo administration of refusing to obey the courts.
Dangerous Double Standard
The PDP described the situation as more troubling when compared with Osun State, where federal allocations were withheld on grounds of legitimacy.
The opposition party alleged that despite subsisting court judgments, funds continued to be released in Edo State to unelected local government administrators.
“This contradiction exposes a deliberate double standard and a broader APC strategy to weaponise federal institutions against opposition-controlled states,” PDP said, warning that such actions were “playing with fire.”
Alleged Dismantling Of Obaseki’s Legacy
The PDP said it stood firmly with former Governor Godwin Obaseki over what it described as a needless assault on legacy projects and institutional reforms.
Among the initiatives listed by the party were the Museum of West African Art, Radisson Blu Hotel, Ossiomo Power Project, Presco Plc, Saro Farms, EdoBEST, EdoGIS, Edo Innovation Hub, Edo Enterprise Park and a digitised, professional Edo Civil Service.
“These were products of vision, planning, and discipline,” the PDP said, adding that their dismantling reflected “resentment and ignorance, not reform.”
“You cannot dismantle value and call it governance,” the statement read.
The party insisted that the state was being governed without direction, without respect for democratic institutions and without fidelity to the rule of law.