_While Edo bleeds under a severe wave Of unchecked insecurity, Governor Monday Okpebholo abandons governance to deploy notorious political thugs and campus cultists against the very man who sacrificed his own ambition to make him Governor_.
BENIN CITY — In a shocking, high-octane display of political ingratitude and administrative failure, the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has mobilized a ruthless coalition of notorious political thugs and cultists to intimidate, harass, and violently suppress supporters of his supreme political benefactor, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, ahead of the Edo South APC Senatorial Primary.
This dangerous development marks a staggering descent into lawlessness for an administration that has failed to secure the state, yet has suddenly found its operational bearings to wage a proxy war against its own party members.
The Height of Ingratitude: Biting the Hand That Fed Him
To understand the sheer magnitude of this betrayal, one must revisit the foundational architecture of the current Edo State Government. When Senator Monday Okpebholo was rejected by both the mighty and the not-so-mighty across Edo State, it was Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu—a titan of Edo politics with a fiercely loyal grassroots structure—who stepped down, swallowed his own ambition, and single-handedly built the bridge that walked Okpebholo into the Government House.
Without the political capital, structural machinery, and unconditional backing of Pastor Ize-Iyamu, the Okpebholo governorship would have been an absolute impossibility.
Yet, barely a year into his tenure, Governor Okpebholo has redefined the concept of political treachery. Instead of governing with humility and delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Edo State, the Governor has chosen to turn his newly acquired state power against the very house that sheltered him.
The Sham Anti-Cultism Campaign Exposed
What makes this aggressive maneuver deeply hypocritical is the Governor’s public posturing. For months, the Okpebholo administration has noisy-branded itself around a “total war on cultism,” setting up the Special Security Squad and launching high-profile secondary school sensitizations.
Just days ago, the government claimed to raid criminal hideouts under “Operation Flush Out.”
However, reports flooding in from across the wards of Edo South Senatorial District reveal the ugly truth: the Governor’s anti-cultism crusade is nothing but a political smoke screen.
The very cult structures the state claims to be fighting have been co-opted, funded, and unleashed as an enforcement wing to intimidate delegates and supporters loyal to Pastor Ize-Iyamu. While ordinary citizens are left vulnerable to real-world criminals, state resources are reportedly being diverted to provide cover for political thugs operating under the guise of state-backed local actors.
Failing on Insecurity, Excelling in Tyranny
Edo State is currently grappling with a severe crisis of public safety. From daring kidnappings on commercial highways to unchecked violent crimes in urban centers, the current administration has consistently proved it has zero practical solutions to keep the state safe and crisis-free.
pathetically, the SHINE Agenda has grown dim. The administration’s security strategy has been reduced to reactive press releases and media optics.
The Governor cannot find the strategic willpower to clear out the criminal syndicates terrorizing Edo’s rural farmers, yet he possesses the clinical efficiency to deploy enforcers across Edo South to rig an internal party primary.
It is a tragedy of governance when an executive officer is incompetent at fighting genuine insecurity but highly proficient at organizing state-sponsored tyranny against perceived political opponents. If Governor Okpebholo and his administrative handlers believe that unleashing thugs will force Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to back down, they are suffering from severe historical amnesia.
POI is not a political novice to be bullied off the field. He is an institution in Edo State politics, with a resilient base built over decades of consistency, principles, and genuine connection to the people.
Insiders within the Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organization have made it clear that the camp will not be provoked into violence, but they will absolutely not be intimidated into submission.
The grassroots voters and delegates of Edo South are fully aware of who holds their true interests, and no amount of state-engineered thuggery will change the arithmetic of the ballot.
”It is better to go to the field and slog it out democratically than to think threats will work. The Governor will be deeply disappointed because the soul of Edo South APC cannot be bought or bullied,” a high-ranking campaign official stated.
The Clock is Ticking for the APC
By allowing desperate, short-sighted political desperation to define this senatorial primary, Governor Okpebholo is actively fracturing the All Progressives Congress from within. This self-inflicted crisis does not just threaten the peace of Edo South; it jeopardizes the entire future of the party ahead of the 2027 general elections, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be put on notice .
The leadership of the APC at the national level, alongside President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must urgently call Governor Okpebholo to order before his administration’s unchecked aggression hands Edo State back to the opposition on a silver platter.
Governor Okpebholo must realize that state power is transient, but political treachery leaves a permanent stain. The people of Edo South are watching, the party is watching, and the very hands that lifted him up are fully prepared to let democracy prevail.
From Concerned Edo South APC Senatorial District leaders.