Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has criticized the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, describing it as a “sick” party on life support, with its leaders struggling for relevance.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, Okpebholo likened Edo PDP to a broken-down car abandoned by its driver after years of reckless leadership.
He further stated that the party had become a shadow of its former self, plagued by internal divisions and lacking direction.
He said: “Instead of seeking redemption, Edo PDP leaders have resorted to aimless wailing against a government that is steadily gaining the trust of the people.
“Much like a drowning man flailing in the waters of irrelevance, the PDP is desperately grasping at anything that gives the illusion of political survival.
“Their latest antics, rather than winning them public sympathy, only reinforce the obvious: Edo PDP is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), gasping for air, and rather than battling for survival, its leaders are wasting their dwindling oxygen on unproductive tantrums.
“The PDP is not just a sick party on life support, it is a party suffering from terminal political irrelevance. The faction-ridden, and scandal-infested remnants of what was once a ruling party has now been reduced to a collection of desperate voices clinging to lies, propaganda, and outright misinformation, in a last-ditch effort to remain in public discourse.”
Edo governor also stated that it was ironic that the same PDP that spent the last eight years squandering the state’s resources and alienating its own members, now claimed to be the voice of reason.
He said: “The same party (PDP) that crushed its foundation members: the Legacy PDP, under the weight of impunity and godfatherism, is now pretending to be champions of the people.
“Their (Edo PDP leaders’) newfound role as self-appointed critics of Governor Monday Okpebholo is not driven by patriotism or concern for Edo’s progress, it is nothing more than the desperate growl of a wounded lion that has lost its territory.
“Former Governor Godwin Obaseki and his co-travellers are the architects of PDP’s downfall. They ran the party into the ground with their arrogance, side-lining loyal members, imposing candidates, and rewarding opportunists who saw governance as a personal business empire.
“Now that they have been rejected at the poll (Edo governorship of September 21, 2024) and abandoned by the people, their remaining foot soldiers have adopted an attack-dog strategy, barking at every single move of the Okpebholo-led Government.”
Edo governor, however,vgave example of a staunch PDP lawmaker, Sunday Ojiezele Ikpenomen, who willingly defected to the APC, not because of money, but in view of the fact that he saw the unprecedented developmental strides of the new administration in the Southsouth state.
He said: “Edo PDP leaders should stop assuming that every politician shares their old-fashioned, corruption-ridden mentality. Instead, they should focus on fixing their own internal disaster, before pointing fingers at a government that is already delivering results.
“Here is the part that baffles the people of Edo: how does a party that wasted eight years of golden opportunity suddenly find the moral audacity to question a government that is barely a few months old?
“Governor Okpebholo is not a man of empty words and flamboyant speeches, he is a leader of action. He does not waste time on grandiose promises. Instead, he gets to work on real, practical governance. One of his first major projects: the construction of the Ramat Park flyover, was welcomed by Edo residents as a long-overdue development, but, as expected, PDP leaders in the state, in their usual tone-deafness, raised a needless alarm, questioning the necessity of the project. The irony is not lost on anyone: this is the same party that promised industrial hubs and economic rejuvenation, only to leave behind white elephant projects that served no real purpose, other than enriching a few consultants.
“Edo PDP leaders should take a moment to reflect on their own failures, before attacking the new government. What became of all the so-called innovation hubs that Obaseki loudly inaugurated? Where are the jobs he promised Edo youths? What happened to the billions of Naira allocated for infrastructure that never materialised? Instead of addressing their abysmal record, PDP’s remnants prefer to sit on the side-lines and scream at a government that is busy fixing their mess.
“Their latest tactic: flooding the media space with baseless allegations, only proves one thing: they are still reeling from their disgraceful electoral defeat. Having failed to produce any credible argument at the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, their last resort is to cry foul at every policy of the Okpebholo’s administration.
“But here is where they missed the point: Edo people are not fooled. They have seen the difference between rhetoric and practical governance. They are witnessing first-hand, the commitment of a government that listens, engages, and acts. While PDP’s new poster boys are busy playing opposition for the sake of opposition, Governor Okpebholo is rolling up his sleeves and delivering results.”
Okpebholo also maintained that he was not just leading a government, but leading a rescue mission to recover Edo from the abyss PDP’s leaders pushed it into.
He said: “Under PDP, Edo was seen as a state trapped in the hands of political Pharaohs, and suffocating under bad governance, but Edo residents have now declared that they will never go back to Egypt. They have rejected the PDP’s culture of deceit, corruption, and stagnation.
“No amount of lies, misinformation, or media outbursts will change the reality: the PDP is politically dead in Edo State. If Chris Nehikhare and his cohorts are so desperate to stay relevant, they should consider writing fiction novels, instead of embarrassing themselves with propaganda that even their own party members do not believe.
