Edo PDP Seeks Tinubu’s Intervention Over Okpebholo–Obaseki Political Rift

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in what it describes as growing “provocations, distortions, and political hostility” allegedly coming from Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration.

The call was made in a statement issued on Tuesday in Benin by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Dan Osa-Ogbegie.

Osa-Ogbegie accused the APC-led state government of orchestrating a “coordinated and increasingly reckless campaign” against former Governor Godwin Obaseki. He claimed certain APC power brokers were behind efforts to undermine Obaseki and disrupt governance in Edo State.

He warned that these actions were “overheating the polity” and could escalate into broader instability if ignored.

“For months, the APC-led administration has deliberately sought to bait, distract and tarnish former Governor Godwin Obaseki. We call on President Bola 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,” he stated.

According to Osa-Ogbegie, the government has been dismantling several reforms and development projects initiated under Obaseki.

“These are not acts of governance. They are acts of vendetta, bitterness and political vandalism,” he said.

He cited alleged attacks on Saro Farms in Orhionmwon and Ovia, describing them as “a devastating blow to investor confidence” and a direct assault on Obaseki’s agricultural policies. He also condemned the suspension of the Benin Enterprise Park, which he said was halted and discredited “for no reason other than APC’s inability to tolerate any developmental legacy tied to Obaseki.”

Osa-Ogbegie further accused the state government of hostility towards the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), pointing to a “security collapse” that enabled hoodlums to invade the premises. He said it was “a calculated attempt to stain Obaseki’s globally celebrated cultural reforms.”

Other accusations included reversing EdoGIS digital land reforms—returning the state to “racketeering, political land seizures and institutional opacity”—and undermining EdoBEST, the basic education reform programme, through “political interference and anti-merit appointments.” He also alleged intimidation of agro-industrial investors linked to the Presco land controversy.

He argued that these issues collectively depict “a government run by godfathers, not governance.”

Osa-Ogbegie commended Obaseki for maintaining restraint despite what he described as persistent provocation.

“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,” he said.

He added that Obaseki’s ongoing engagements with Edo citizens in the diaspora across Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East appeared to “anger” APC leaders. The PDP reaffirmed its support for the former governor.

However, in a swift response, Kassim Afegbua, the Edo Commissioner for Information and Strategy, dismissed the PDP’s allegations as baseless and rooted in frustration.

Afegbua said the PDP lacked the moral authority to criticise the current administration, arguing that the party was still reeling from internal divisions allegedly created by Obaseki.

He accused the former governor of entering the PDP like “a bull in a China shop,” fracturing the previously united party into factions such as the Legacy PDP, New PDP and Government House PDP after securing re-election on its platform.

“The lot of the fragmented Peoples Democratic Party are still in disarray, but the perks from the fugitive former governor are firing the adrenaline of those ostentatious dancers who have become jesters and coupon clippers back home,” Afegbua said.

He dismissed the achievements highlighted by the PDP as “weather-beaten conjectures that do not reflect reality,” describing PDP’s statement as mere comic entertainment.

“Each time we intend to unwind, we tune to PDP Comedy Television to catch some hilarious sound bites of a party that has quixotically atrophied its opportunities and left the state in ruins,” he added.

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