The National Youth Deputy Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Timothy Osadore, has accused Edo State Governor Monday Okpeboro of being on the wrong track in handling issues related to local government in the state.
Mr Osadore said Okpeboro Municipality was still in the thrall of the 1999 Constitution and did not have the latest information on the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy.
Naija News recalls that the Edo State House of Assembly on December 17, 2024, suspended all 18 local government chairmen and all their members for two months for alleged insubordination and gross misconduct.
The suspension follows a petition by Governor Okpeboro on Monday for failure of council executives to submit financial accounts of their respective local governments to the state government.
Reacting to the development in an interview with the Daily Independent published on Monday, the PDP leader said, “Governor Okpeboro has chosen to listen to the opinions of many biceps around him instead of common sense. I did,” he said.
Mr. Osadore accused Mr. Okpebolo of inciting violence and of amusing observers and officials with his actions.
“If you don’t have a government that understands what the rule of law means, you will have governors like Monday Okpeboro in Edo State, who are still stuck in the 1999 constitution and the trends around them. , especially the recent trends of the Supreme Court’ rulings on local autonomy.
“A governor who believes in and encourages assault. I saw you looking for a way to hit it. This is too much. The deterioration is sad.
“The decision taken by the Edo State government is amusing to the keen observer and there is only one thing to point out.Meanwhile, the governor has a learned Attorney General and a lot of talk on national television about the pressure to dissolve or suspend him. There is Oshiomole who said that, how he resisted because it was wrong, Governor Okpeboro chose to listen to the voices of many biceps around him instead of common sense.”
Mr. Osadore, however, expressed hope that the PDP gubernatorial candidate for the 2024 Edo election, Asue Ighodaro, will prevail in court and replace Mr. Okpeboro as Edo State governor.
He urged people in the state to be patient.
“I implore Edo people to be patient. We urge that this temporary proclamation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which goes against the wishes of Edo people, shall be null and void and Mr. Asue Ighodaro I believe that Edo people will come back to do the job that they voted for him to do,” he concluded.
