PDP, Okpebholo bicker over N4.2bn SUVs for commissioner-nominees, others

The Edo State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the state governor, Monday Okpebholo, yesterday engaged each other over alleged plans to purchase ₦4.2 billion Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) for 28 commissioner-nominees by the state government. The State Publicity Secretary of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement alleged that the […]

The Edo State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the state governor, Monday Okpebholo, yesterday engaged each other over alleged plans to purchase ₦4.2 billion Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) for 28 commissioner-nominees by the state government.

The State Publicity Secretary of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement alleged that the state government was using taxpayers’ money for the purchase of the vehicles. 

The PDP also said the governor’s recent request to the State House of Assembly to confirm 28 commissioner-nominees will make his cabinet the most bloated in the history of the state. 

“We are aware that the governor has already concluded plans to squander ₦4.2 billion of taxpayers’ money on luxury SUVs for these commissioners, each costing an outrageous ₦150 million,” the opposition party alleged.

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The PDP said while other states were prioritising workers’ welfare by raising the minimum wage in line with increased allocations from the Federation Account, Governor Okpebholo was fixated on buying SUVs, “sharing the money, and settling political IOUs.”

The party said the “wasteful spending spree” is offensive at a time Edo hospitals were collapsing, schools lacking teachers, roads becoming death traps, and communities allegedly left at the mercy of bandits and kidnappers. 

The opposition party also alleged that the governor and his deputy, Denise Idahosa, have abandoned the state for foreign trips without any clear direction or handover arrangements.

The PDP said despite the reports of delayed payment of workers’ entitlements, abandoned development projects, and worsening insecurity, the government preferred “endless foreign junkets and reckless extravagance.”

But the Chief Press Secretary  to Governor Okpebholo, Fred Itua,  described the allegations as not only false, but a desperate attempt by a “failed political party” to regain relevance.

Itua said the deputy governor, Idahosa, was on ground in Edo State, diligently discharging his official responsibilities. 

He said the insinuation that both the governor and his deputy abandoned the state is a product of mischief and deliberate falsehood, noting that the state has never been left without leadership under Okpebholo. 

Itua said unlike the PDP,  Okpebholo has “taken concrete steps to reverse the failures of the PDP” in just nine months in office.