Every few years, Edo gets a new governor, and with it comes a predictable choir of wailers chanting the same tired refrain: “The governor is favouring his people!” They sang it when Adams Oshiomhole ruled from Edo North. They crooned it louder when Godwin Obaseki entrenched himself in Edo South. And now, with Monday Okpebholo barely warming his chair, they have dusted off the same accusations, this time dressing them up as “Esan Agenda bias.” But unlike before, this lie collapses under the cold weight of fact.
The principle of federalism is clear: every unit is equal, regardless of size or population. That is why Borno State, sprawling at 70,898 square kilometres, the second largest in Nigeria, has just three senators. Edo, modest at 19,559 square kilometres, less than one third the population of Borno State, also has three senators. Kogi, with 29,833 square kilometres, has the same three senators as tiny Abia, Imo or Ebonyi in the South East. Equality of units, not equality of landmass or population. Edo mirrors this same federal balance. Three senatorial districts—North, South, Central—equal partners in representation and in claim to power. When power rotates, it is not charity. It is equity. And the zone that receives it has every right to focus on its peculiar deficits.
The record speaks for itself. Oshiomhole, from Edo North, spent his turn building roads into his villages and stacking appointments to consolidate his zone. Nobody called that favoritism—it was his right. Obaseki, from Edo South, ring-fenced Benin City with projects and appointments. SSG, Chief of Staff, Head of Service, powerful commissioners—all South. Nobody shouted bias then either. Now Okpebholo, from Edo Central, who by right should be pouring concrete into every centimeter of Esanland, reviving Uwesan farms, fixing Ubiaja and Uromi’s roads, expanding Ewu cassava and groundnut farms, promoting Ekpoma and Igueben’s urbanization drive, and restoring Irrua’s water schemes, has instead chosen a different path. He has chosen balance. He has chosen inclusiveness. He has chosen equity. His Deputy Governor is from Edo South. His Chief of Staff, Gani Audu, is from Edo North. His Head of Service is from Edo South. Only his SSG is from Edo Central. He backed Edo South to be CMD of UBTH, one of the biggest health facilities in Africa, he backed Edo South to be MD of New Edo Line, he backed Edo North to be CMD of National Orthopaedic Hospital in Edo State. His commissioners are spread across all three zones. For the first time in recent Edo history, every senatorial district has a genuine stake at the table. In the voice of Egogo, one is tempted to echo the philosophical phrase; “Una nor go thank Governor?”
And yet, here’s the irony: the heaviest projects under his administration so far are not in Esanland at all, but in Edo South. The Benin Flyover projects, dwarfing everything else in scale and cost, are all in Edo South. The two-billion-naira plus pledge for a new Paediatric Ward at UBTH is in Edo South. If even half of that amount were pumped into Esanland, most of the bad roads in Irrua and Uromi would already be fixed. The completion of the Ekenhuan Road to the river, another major project, is in Edo South. So let’s drop the charade: if there is a zone receiving disproportionate largesse today, it is not Esan, but South. The facts mock the false narrative of “Esan Agenda bias” and expose it as nothing more than malicious propaganda peddled by people who are not okay in the UK….
Edo Central is an equal federating partner in the Edo State tripodal structure. When Edo Central is transformed, Edo State itself is transformed. That is the truth. That is the logic. And that is the path Monday Okpebholo has chosen. Let him govern in peace. Let the hired mourners sing themselves hoarse. Edo has moved on. And Edo, truly, is shining. Make we thank Governor!
Saintmoses Eromosele
Saintmoses Eromosele is a Nigerian scholar, community organiser, and entrepreneur. He is the Executive Director of the Oneghe Sele Foundation and CEO of multiple ventures spanning education, healthcare, property, media, and technology. A trained legal mind with academic grounding in law, sociology, economics, management, and public administration, he is widely known for his advocacy on justice, civic responsibility, and equitable governance. He writes from his cassava farm in Ewu, Edo State.
