The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on Governor Monday Okpehbolo, the State House of Assembly, the National Universities Commission (NUC), and the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to investigate the alleged controversial Professor of Law title conferred on the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Roland Otaru (SAN).

Naijaonpoint reports that the PDP, in a statement issued through its Publicity Secretary, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, on Monday, December 8, 2025, demanded that the matter be immediately addressed publicly and transparently.

The PDP also urged the National Assembly to redeem dignity by constituting an independent, competent and credible investigative committee to probe the professorship claim, the PhD claim, the academic trajectory, publications, teaching records and all related circumstances.

According to the opposition party, the NUC and CLE should also conduct external verification and publish their findings to Nigerians.

The PDP also accused Okpehbolo’s administration of failing to conduct proper background checks before clearing and appointing commissioners, despite taking nearly a full year to assemble his cabinet.

The statement reads, “The attention of Edo people, and indeed the wider Nigerian legal and academic communities, has been drawn to the disturbing petition issued by law students of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti alleging that the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Edo State, Mr Roland Otaru, SAN, may have been conferred with the title of Professor of Law in circumstances that point unmistakably to academic fraud.

“This development is profoundly troubling. While it is true that Mr Otaru, SAN, has enjoyed a long and commendable legal career, such a career, however illustrious, cannot and must not be used to sidestep allegations of academic impropriety. A professorship is not an ornament of political prestige. It is a hard-earned academic rank achieved only through transparent scholarly progression, including mandatory service as Reader or Associate Professor, and backed by verifiable research, teaching, examination of postgraduate students, and recognised intellectual contributions.

“The petition alleges that none of these essential academic milestones was attained prior to the purported appointment of Mr Otaru as Professor of Law. It equally raises questions about the authenticity and academic weight of the Ph.D said to have been obtained only recently from a nondescript institution. These are not trivial inconsistencies. They are serious claims that strike at the heart of academia and at the dignity of the chief law office of our State.

“This is not the first time Edo people are being forced to endure embarrassment from the bungling, uncoordinated and reckless Okpebholo administration. What makes this episode even more shocking is that the Governor and his rubber-stamp Edo State House of Assembly failed woefully to conduct proper background checks before clearing and appointing commissioners, despite taking nearly a full year to assemble a cabinet. The intellectual lassitude displayed by both the Governor and the Assembly in this matter is staggering. How a government that kept Edo waiting for months could not perform the most basic due diligence on nominees is yet another glaring testament to the administrative incompetence and indolence that have become the hallmark of this government.

“This is how Edo State, once respected for its intellectual heritage, now finds itself reeling from yet another avoidable national embarrassment orchestrated by an administration that confuses governance with improvisation and treats due diligence as an inconvenience.

“If the allegations are false, let the Attorney-General be vindicated before the entire nation. If they are true, then Edo State must not, for a single day more, tolerate an Attorney-General whose academic credentials are the product of manipulation, misrepresentation or undue advantage. This administration has embarrassed Edo people enough. It must not add the desecration of academic credibility to its growing list of failures.

“Edo people are watching. This time, we will not look away. This matter cannot be swept under the carpet. It cannot be managed in whispers. Integrity demands sunlight, and Edo people will accept nothing less.”

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