Tony Aziegbemi, the Edo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has strongly criticized Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. He described the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain’s recent publication as a desperate attempt at self-promotion.
Aziegbemi stated that Ize-Iyamu’s comments were not a defence of Governor Monday Okpebholo. Instead, he called it a “carefully choreographed audition” by a politician. This politician, he added, is driven solely by personal ambition.
“His essay drips with desperation, revisionism, and opportunism,” Aziegbemi declared in a rejoinder. He stressed the need to “set the record straight with clarity and precision.” This was necessary, he explained, because Ize-Iyamu had “chosen to deliberately mislead the public.”
Critique of Current Administration’s Projects
Aziegbemi challenged the Okpebholo administration’s handling of the Ramat Park flyover. He insisted the project lacked transparency and due process. “The so-called Ramat Park flyover is not an achievement,” he noted. He added that the contract was awarded “without design, without a tenders board, without transparency, and without basic due process.”
Despite receiving over ₦236 billion in ten months, the administration has no single completed project to show, Aziegbemi claimed. He called what is marketed as development “nothing more than hurried concrete, hollow publicity, and improvised engineering.” “Edo people deserve better,” he stated firmly.
Allegations of Hypocrisy and Inconsistency
The PDP chairman accused Ize-Iyamu of selective respect for judicial legitimacy. “This is the same man who rejected election results in 2016,” Aziegbemi reminded. “He rejected them again in 2020. He litigated endlessly, lost at every level, and only discovered rule of law after exhausting all appeals.”
Aziegbemi further claimed Ize-Iyamu privately held negative views about Governor Okpebholo. Yet, he now offers public praise for political gain. “Hypocrisy has always been his second nature,” he asserted.
Defending Obaseki’s Legacy and Programmes
Aziegbemi dismissed attempts to undermine former Governor Godwin Obaseki’s tenure. He listed several key projects delivered under the PDP administration. These included a modern secretariat complex and the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy. The Edo Tech Park was also among the achievements.
Other highlights were 1,200km of fibre-optic connectivity, remodelled colleges, and multiple primary healthcare centres. Modular refineries, independent power projects, and stormwater interventions were also completed. “The difference between solid development and hurried political construction is clear,” he emphasized.
The PDP leader also refuted Ize-Iyamu’s criticism of the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme. “Over 11,300 teachers were trained,” he highlighted. “More than 900 schools were strengthened, and over 300,000 learners were impacted.” He concluded that “to trivialise such a landmark reform is not analysis; it is ignorance masquerading as commentary.”
Aziegbemi stated that challenges at Ambrose Alli University predated Governor Okpebholo’s administration. He said a Special Intervention Team (SIT) had rescued the institution from deep-rooted fraud. “The SIT uncovered over 1,300 ghost workers,” he revealed. “What Okpebholo now celebrates as restoration is merely the return of the same interests that crippled the university for decades.”
Transparency, Security, and Agricultural Concerns
The PDP chairman criticized claims of blocked revenue leakages. He alleged that Edo State is now run without transparency. “Edo State is now run without audited accounts,” he said. “There are no published procurement records, and land administration is not functioning. Certificates of Occupancy are practically suspended because the governor has not mastered a consistent signature.” Aziegbemi claimed investors have fled, and “economic governance has collapsed into patronage.”
Aziegbemi accused the Okpebholo administration of failing to control rising insecurity. “Violent cult clashes have surged across Etsako West, Esan West, Egor, Ikpoba-Okha, Uhunmwode, and Oredo,” he stated. “Kidnappings have risen even on major roads.” He added, “Bulldozers and media theatrics do not qualify as security.”
Aziegbemi dismissed social welfare claims attributed to the APC administration. He questioned the “billion-naira bursaries, billion-naira traders’ funds, and revived social welfare schemes.” These, he noted, do not appear in any official budget or circular.
He also noted the APC government had contributed nothing to agricultural development. He contrasted this with the Edo State Oil Palm Programme. “In one year, the Okpebholo administration has not cultivated a single hectare of farmland,” he observed.
Aziegbemi defended the Museum of West African Art project. He called it a “world-class cultural asset.” “To reduce such a monumental project to partisan propaganda is intellectual poverty,” he asserted.
Political Ambition and History of Betrayal
He accused Ize-Iyamu of using public statements to position himself. This, Aziegbemi claimed, is for the Edo South senatorial ticket of the APC in 2027. “Everything he writes, says, or pretends to believe is simply an investment in that ambition,” he claimed.
Aziegbemi listed instances where Ize-Iyamu allegedly betrayed political benefactors. “No politician in Edo State has betrayed benefactors with the consistency of Ize-Iyamu,” he stated. He recalled how Chief Lucky Igbinedion politically “created” Ize-Iyamu. He also mentioned how Adams Oshiomhole “risked his chairmanship” to support him in 2020. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also backed him.
“His history is a straight line: use, benefit, betray, abandon,” Aziegbemi said. “Edo people know this pattern too well.”
Aziegbemi referenced comments made by Oshiomhole during the 2016 campaign. He quoted Oshiomhole saying Ize-Iyamu was “not fit to be governor.” Oshiomhole also called him “a liability to Edo State” and “a man with a dark past.” Aziegbemi asserted that Ize-Iyamu’s recent conduct has not contradicted those words.
Conclusion: Edo Deserves Competent Governance
Aziegbemi concluded that Ize-Iyamu’s praise-singing cannot hide the administration’s failures. “Edo State is in decline,” he stated. “No volume of praise-singing from ‘Pastor’ Osagie Ize-Iyamu can hide the failures of the Okpebholo administration.”
He added, “Edo deserves competent governance, not opportunistic choristers auditioning for their next political transaction.”
About the Author
