BENIN: The Edo State Government has issued a scathing response to the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, dismissing its recent criticisms as “baseless, ill-informed and laughable.”
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua, the Governor Monday Okpebholo administration accused the PDP of hypocrisy and desperation, calling it a “moribund” and “dead political party.”
The statement was a direct rebuttal to comments made by the PDP’s spokesperson, Chris Osa Nehikhare.
The state government lambasted the PDP for attempting to “lecture the people on governance, accountability, and prudent spending” after what it described as years of “misrule, monumental corruption, and gross incompetence.”
“The same PDP that had every opportunity to transform Edo but instead chose to plunder its resources, destroy public trust, and mortgage the future of our people now pretends to be the conscience of the state,” the statement read.
Addressing specific claims made by the PDP, government refuted allegations of frivolous spending by Governor Okpebholo.
It insisted that every official trip, both local and international, has been “strategically aimed at forging partnerships, attracting investments and securing opportunities that will yield long-term benefits for Edo people.”
The statement contrasted this with the “PDP era, where foreign trips were little more than shopping expeditions and family vacations.”
It also took aim at Chris Nehikhare personally, describing him as “the least qualified person in Edo State to talk about accountability, prudence, or governance.”
Itua asserted that Nehikhare’s political resume “reads like a manual on failure: years spent defending corruption, whitewashing incompetence, and parroting lies.”
The Edo State Government also rejected the PDP’s criticism of the state’s infrastructure, calling the claims “the height of hypocrisy.”
It attributed the decay of schools, roads and hospitals to the previous PDP administration and highlighted Governor Okpebholo’s efforts to “steadily reverse those years of damage, rebuilding critical infrastructure, restoring investor confidence and giving Edo people a State they can be proud of.”
The statement advised the Party to “apologize to Edo people for the catastrophic years of PDP governance” before attempting to criticize the current administration.
It emphasized that Governor Okpebholo’s administration will not be distracted by “the wailings of expired politicians” and remains focused on delivering tangible progress for the people of Edo State.
