…Okpebholo said nothing that Obi hasn’t done before
By Sebastine Ebhuomhan
Sunday, 20th July, 2025. Abuja. Last week, precisely on Friday, 18th July, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) organised a political rally to receive the only serving federal lawmaker of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State who dumped the party in support of the calm and focussed administration of the state governor.
Speaking at the rally, Governor Monday Okpebholo spared no jabs that are often part of such high-tempo political events. Notably, he issued a very important security advisory to the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and ex-governor of Anambra State, Dr. Peter Obi, concerning Obi’s regular visits to Edo State for socio-political activities, which most recent one left a tragic trail.
As all Nigerians know by now, Edo State people credibly voted, love and support Okpebholo, the immediate past elected lawmaker of Edo Central District at the Senate of the Federal Republic and his administration because he is a man of peace and progress. As a law-abiding citizen with simple and humble background, the governor does not talk much, does not threaten anybody, but loves hard, always honest to a fault, believes mostly in action, and never gets tired of galvanising people, policies and programmes for the governance and development of Edo State since he assumed power. In eight months, he has raised the bar of governance so high that it now looks like he has completed eight years already.
Senator Okpebholo’s positive economic, social, infrastructural, workforce and political strides in a short time, especially his forthright, determined and noiseless result-oriented response to the parlous security (cultism and kidnapping) challenges the PDP-elected ex-governor Godwin Obaseki created for him before sneaking into exile abroad as well as his growing popularity from his determination to make Edo State the Heartbeat of national political consciousness convinced the PDP’s only elected federal lawmaker in Edo State representing Esan Central/Esan West/Igueben Federal Constituency of the House of Representatives, Right Honourable Marcus Onobun, to decamp and boost the APC’s chances in next month’s bye-election of the senatorial district likely to condemn the PDP to another painful defeat.
In a letter, Onobun described his resignation as a “principled stand” taken in agreement with his constituents “to pursue a more effective pathway toward development, unity, and good governance” practised by the state administration Okpebholo leads.
Obi, the leader of the socio-political pressure group, Obidients, visited Edo State on 7th July, 2025 in continuation of his ethnic, religious and socio-political activities. He neither informed, acknowledged nor paid any courtesy to the governor of the state before, during, and after the visit. He donated the sum of N15 million to the St. Philomena Hospital School of Nursing Sciences for the completion of school projects. The donation spiked tragic violence after his departure.
“The man that says he has no ‘shishi’, I am sending a direct message to him. There is a new Sheriff in town. He cannot come to Edo without telling me because his security will never be guaranteed. Whatever happens to him when he is in Edo State, he will take it. I am serious about it.
“He came the other day and donated N15 million. The person who says he has no ‘shishi’ but has N15 million to donate to people. Where did he get N15 million to donate to people? By the time he left, there was crisis. Three people died in Benin. So, for that reason, tell Obi, he should not come to Edo without telling me,” Governor Okpebholo stated in clear Pidgin mixed with good English addressing the grain of crowd at the rally.
To the promoters of All Democratic Alliance (ADA), who have adopted the All Democratic Congress (ADC) as the vehicle for aspirants desperately seeking to truncate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government and hijack power in 2027, Okpebholo accused some of the leaders who have held high public offices in the past of failing to build roads to their villages, many of them deep-rooted in corruption, mismanagement of the national economy, shady sale of national assets, and others of ushering Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers and insecurity into the country. He challenged their moral justification to coalesce against Tinubu. Obi is a promoter of the coalition.
“Some of them stole railway funds. Some were Senate Presidents for years and could not build roads to their villages. Some sold off Nigeria’s assets and even ushered in Boko Haram and kidnappers.
“These same people now want to form new parties. Today SDP; tomorrow ADC; next ADA. We do not need insecurity merchants,” Okpebholo remarked.
He highlighted Onobun’s entry into the APC as a final nail in PDP’s casket in Edo State. He declared with the support of Acting Deputy State APC Chairman, Sylvester Aigboboh, that the party was firmly in control of the political direction of Edo State without virile opposition. He reiterated that President Tinubu would definitely get 2.5 million votes in the 2027 presidential election in Edo State, an off-hand promise confidently rooted in the governor and government’s huge popularity and acceptance.
Instead of appreciation, Okpebholo’s advisory to Obi has become the subject of attacks from supporters of the unsettled Anambra politician, remnants of the self-exiled Obaseki faction, and secret political party wings masquerading as civil society organisations (CSOs). From Obi’s fellow coalition leaders to his Obidient followers to the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) to his fanatic Catholic priests: the reactions have been sheer sensational, misunderstood and controversial; needless furore and hullabaloo.
Different interpretations have been wrongly ascribed to the advisory. Some critics said Okpebholo warned Obi while others said Okpebholo threatened him. These are very wild, wrong and uncharitable interpretations of a simple advisory for an important personality meant to protect him whenever he visits.
While he understandably spoke with a heavy heart from the death of residents, an analysis of the advisory shows that it is in order. Obi might have visited Edo State for a philanthropic cause as he claimed, it is disrespectful to disregard Governor Okpebholo in relationship to the cause. Protocol demands that the visitor notifies his resident, makes a courtesy call, and acknowledges his effort after the visitation. This would enable the governor as Chief Security Officer and host to protect his guest.
Just like the norm in the South East, where many high-profile citizens on sneaky visitations have been killed by terrorising separatists, would Obi’s supporters not blame Governor Okpebholo if he had been shot or attacked anywhere in Edo State?
As a second-term governor of Anambra State, Obi allegedly ordered the arrest and detention of his fellow new coalition promoter Malam Nasir El-Rufai for 48 hours in 2013. Recounting his experience at an Arewa Joint Committee interactive session in Kaduna State for 2019 presidential election candidates in the Daily Trust report of Monday, 17th October, 2022, Governor El-Rufai said he went to Anambra State to monitor the bye-election of the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, whose APC contested against Obi’s All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which candidate, Mr. Willie Obiano won the election.
But El-Rufai would not be drawn into a revenge arrest and detention with Obi. “We are northerners. We are civilised. We don’t do things like that. I wish you all safe journey back to your destinations,” he concluded. It is not known where Obi’s supporters and other so-called constitution adherents chastised him for the unconstitutional act.
In 2020, Governor Obaseki summarily banned his predecessor and National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from visiting Edo State.
“It is really sad that someone who has been governor of the state is visiting the state and does not realise that courtesy demands he should inform the incumbent governor or other government apparatus of his visit. He doesn’t inform the chief executive who is in charge of his security when he is in the state.
“As someone who has served the country, courtesy demands that you inform the governor of the state that you are coming and if you have time during the visit, you can pay him a courtesy call. It is really sad and unfortunate that people who have served the state and who should know better behave the way they do, with impunity and lawlessness,” Obaseki, whose supporters attacked Oshiomhole on Saturday, declared on Sunday, 23rd February, 2020 when ex-President Goodluck Jonathan visited him at the Government House. The Punch reported it the following day.
Surprisingly, many who hailed Obaseki’s declaration at that time he was nurturing thugs, cultists, kidnappers and killers are now critical of Okpebholo, who is not the maker of history, however.
From the foregoing, therefore, Obi and his sympathisers must take the advisory for what it is. They should rather focus their energies on fixing LP crisis and his ADC disqualification.
Mr. Sebastine EBHUOMHAN is an award-winning journalist and a media consultant from Edo State, who freely supported Monday Okpebholo to become state governor. He can be reached on: usie007@yahoo.com and 08037204620.
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