Team Asue Media Organisation (TAMO) has criticised Senator Monday Okpebholo’s plan for fixing dilapidated federal roads in Edo State, if elected governor, calling it “pure, brazen corruption”.
TAMO is the media team of the state’s governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, while Okpebholo is his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress.
In a statement in Benin City, the state capital, on Thursday, TAMO’s spokesperson, Erhabor Emokpae expressed shock that a sitting senator and gubernatorial candidate of the ruling party at the federal level would openly discuss on global television his “intention to deceive the Federal Fovernment by inflating road rehabilitation costs”.
TAMO suggested that an act of divine intervention might have prompted Okpebholo, in a fortuitous Freudian slip, to confess his intentions, warning that, if elected, his “corrupt practices” would extend beyond the Federal Government to the state treasury.
“We urge the good people of Edo State to view this confession as a sign and reject Okpebholo and his party in the upcoming 21 September election”, the statement read.
TAMO highlighted Okpebholo’s outrageous assertion, made during an interview with BBC Pidgin, in which he allegedly stated that as governor, he would reconstruct a road for N10 billion but claim N20 billion in reimbursement from the Federal Government.
The group further said: “Okpebholo’s admission is not only a disgraceful declaration of his intent to defraud the Federal Government, it reveals a disturbing lack of moral integrity. This is clearly a case of divine intervention, and we call on the people to recognize it as such—not as a show of cleverness, but as evidence of outright corruption”.
TAMO warned that if Okpebholo could promote corruption so openly on an international platform, the state’s treasury would not be safe in his hands.
Ighodalo’s media team expressed concern that Okpebholo’s only approach to addressing dilapidated roads is rooted in scamming the Federal Government, declaring that such a candidate is unfit to govern a state like Edo.
TAMO went further to remind Edo people of the stark contrast with Ighodalo, who, it said, is set apart by his commitment to integrity, experience, and a proven track record of leadership.
It outlined the candidate’s history of service to the people of the state as being unmatched, and bringing a deep understanding of the challenges facing the state.
TAMO stated that, with Ighodalo’s experience comes a commitment to honest, effective governance that works for the people, as the state deserves a leader with the vision and experience to make meaningful change.
