The Edo State Government and the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee on Sunday clashed over an alleged N3.51 billion incurred by the government on travel expenses.
The PDP said it was outraged by the revelation that the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led administration ‘squandered the huge amount on travel in just the first half of 2025’.
The government, however, dismissed the claim as ‘AI-generated’, noting that since his assumption of office, Okpebholo had not embarked on any frivolous voyage.
It maintained that every kobo spent on official engagements, both local and international, was ‘strategically aimed at forging partnerships, attracting investments, and securing opportunities that will yield long-term benefits for Edo people’.
A statement on Sunday by the PDP Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, said, ‘The Peoples Democratic Party, Edo State chapter, is outraged by the disgraceful revelation that the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led administration squandered an alarming N3.51bn on travel in just the first half of 2025.
‘This waste comes at a time when the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Capital Importation Report confirms that Edo State failed to attract a single kobo in foreign investment, while states like Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Kano, and even Ekiti made the list.
‘The contrast is both embarrassing and telling. Other states are opening their doors to capital, Edo’s leaders are opening their wallets for endless trips.
‘This reckless expenditure is an insult to the good people of Edo State who continue to endure poor roads, inadequate healthcare facilities, decaying schools, delays in salary payments and epileptic power supply’.
Responding, in a statement, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, said, ‘The attention of the Edo State Government has been drawn to yet another baseless, ill-informed, and laughable press statement by the moribund Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State, by its ever-noisy but chronically uninformed, self-imposed mouthpiece, Chris Osa Nehikhare.
‘It is ironic, if not downright insulting, that the PDP, a party whose years of misrule, monumental corruption, and gross incompetence left Edo State in ruins, now attempts to lecture the people on governance, accountability, and prudent spending.
‘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. Edo people are neither fooled nor interested’.
The government dismissed the claims as false, adding that the governor had been forging alliances since assuming office to develop the state.
‘Senator Monday Okpebholo’s administration is a government of action, purpose, and vision. The AI-generated claims by the moribund PDP are false.
‘Since he assumed office, Governor Okpebholo has not embarked on any frivolous voyage.
‘Every kobo spent on official engagements: local or international, is strategically aimed at forging partnerships, attracting investments, and securing opportunities that will yield long-term benefits for Edo people’.
The governor’s aide carpeted Nehikhare, adding that he was the least qualified to talk about accountability, prudence or governance.
‘As for Nehikhare, he is the least qualified person in Edo State to talk about accountability, prudence, or governance.
‘His political resume reads like a manual on failure: years spent defending corruption, whitewashing incompetence, and parroting lies to keep his stomach full while Edo people suffered.
‘The PDP’s talk of ‘crumbling infrastructure’ is the height of hypocrisy. It was under their watch that Edo’s schools rotted, our roads collapsed, hospitals became death traps, and investments fled in droves’, the statement added.
