Politics

Edo APC, Govt Trade Words Over Land Grabbing, Others

Published

4 years ago

May 30, 2022

The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Obaseki-led government in the state are at loggerhead over land grabbing and the state government’s alleged new policy on land and land grabbers.

Obaseki was said to have invited leaders of different Church organisations to a meeting at the Government House, Benin City, last week where he told them that he has declared a war on land grabbing.

Obaseki was said to have said: “With the support of the Inspector General of Police, we are building trucks with guns and a barrack that will contain 100 men. We are working with the Private Property Protection Committee to come up with a list of petitions which is about 420. We will address all and ensure we end land grabbing in the state.”

But reacting to Obaseki’s alleged ‘war on land grabbers’, the APC in a statement signed by the state Assistant Publicity Secretary, Victor Osehobo, accused the Obaseki-led government of highest culprit of land grabbing with its several policies.

Osehobo, in the statement titled: ‘That Scam of Mr Obaseki’s War On Land Grabbing,’ said the government of Obaseki had in several occasions demolished individuals houses including churches and seized their plots and in many cases claiming them as Government plots, adding that there was a time the government attempted on relocating the same churches he pleaded to support him in his war on land grabbers.

“Ironically, Edo people know for a fact that the reason why Land grabbing is a major problem in the state is because the Obaseki government is the biggest culprit.

“As it were, over time, the government has perfected a policy of grabbing peoples land by demolishing their houses and seizing their plots and in many cases claiming them as Government plots.

“In the process, the state government has earned itself myriads of litigations, which could have been avoided ab initio.

“At a time, the Obaseki government contemplated grabbing the lands belonging to these same church organizations and even attempted to relocate many of them over a spurious land use plan. Now he wants these same bodies, which are duly registered to apply for fresh registration with his government by presenting building plans.”

The statement added: “It smacks of cluelessness for Governor Obaseki to announce that he has a declared war on land grabbing.”

According to Osehobo in the statement, what Edo people expected Obaseki “to declare war on and long before now was the activities of rampaging criminal herdsmen, kidnappers and bandits, that have been busy terrorizing highways across the state.”

Osehobo’s statement added: “This is the same Governor Obaseki who could not declare a war in January, when scores of persons, dressed in military uniform and suspected to be herdsmen invaded several farming communities in Ovia Northeast Local Government Area of Edo State, chased all the villagers away and took control of their farms, homes and properties.

“Mr Obaseki did not also declare a war when last month, less than five persons and several others were maimed as suspected criminal herdsmen attacked Odiguetue, among other agrarian communities in the same Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.

“Indeed, Governor Obaseki was really busy, politicking, and absent from the state, else he would have known that over 45 communities, including Odiguetue, Ofintebe, Igolo, Okokuo, Abumwenre I and II, Obarenren, Uhiere, Uyimo I and II, all in Ovia Northeast Local government, protested the activities of herdsmen which resulted in killings, destructions of farm produce and forceful evictions from their ancestral homes, by barricading the Lagos – Benin Expressway for hours.”

The statement, while appealing to “religious organizations especially the churches and their leaders to be on red alert,” advised Obaseki to “hand over to the relevant security authorities, all the barracks, the trucks and the guns he is building and has acquired, against land grabbing.”

But the Edo State Government in its reaction said with the APC’s utterance, it’s obvious that the party “in Edo State is out of its depth and are now spokespersons for violent elements whose actions were responsible for the state’s underdevelopment in the past.”

The government’s statement titled ‘Edo Govt Berates APC For Backing Land-grabbers, Others,’ and signed by Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser, Media Projects to Obaseki said: “On the charge for the state government to deploy its assets to check banditry and herdsmen attacks, the Edo APC is obviously playing the Ostrich. In case they have forgotten, I would like to remind them that the Federal Government – which is controlled by their party, the APC – is constitutionally empowered to address issues of national security.

“The APC-controlled Federal Government is in charge of the machinery of state to fight off banditry and herdsmen/farmer clashes. They control the Civil Defense, Nigerian Army, Department of State Services, Nigeria Intelligence Agency and the Nigeria Police Force. Hence, the criticism should be directed at their party at the national level.”

Politics

In Defence Of Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe: The Generational Shift Reshaping Edo Politics

Published

18 hours ago

May 27, 2026

Editor

By DAN Osa-Ogbegie

For decades, Edo politics remained trapped within a narrow and predictable cycle of political recycling. The same ageing actors moved endlessly from one office to another, from one administration to the next, and from one political alignment to another, as though leadership in Edo State had become the exclusive inheritance of a permanent political aristocracy.

Meanwhile, thousands of intelligent, energetic, and capable young Edo people watched helplessly from the margins while opportunities for leadership, governance, party administration, and public service remained tightly controlled by individuals whose political relevance dated back several decades.

That unhealthy political culture is now gradually changing.

Today, one of the most important political transformations taking place within the All Progressives Congress in Edo State is the deliberate transition from recycled political gerontocracy to a younger generation of political actors. That transition is unfolding under the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State and Leader of the APC in Edo State, together with the State Chairman of the party, Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Predictably, such a shift has unsettled entrenched interests.

Those who became accustomed to monopolising political relevance naturally feel threatened by the emergence of a younger generation that is increasingly assertive, visible, influential, and institutionally empowered. Yet, history teaches a simple lesson: no political structure survives indefinitely without renewal.

No serious political party can continue recycling the same exhausted political machinery forever while expecting innovation, grassroots energy, modern governance ideas, and long-term political sustainability.

That reality appears to be clearly understood by Governor Monday Okpebholo and Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Much of the criticism unfairly directed at Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe in recent times stems from the fact that he has become one of the visible faces of this generational transition within Edo APC. Beneath the noise, propaganda, and political bitterness lies an undeniable truth: the party is consciously opening spaces for younger people in ways not seen for many years.

From the youthful Deputy Chairman of APC in Edo State, Sylvester Aigboboh, to several younger commissioners, Special Advisers, members of the State Executive Council, board chairmen, local government administrators, and strategic appointees across government, the evidence of deliberate political renewal is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

In Uhunmwode Local Government Area, Hon. Austin Imafidon has emerged as one of the young faces of focused governance and grassroots administration. Beyond politics, he has already established himself successfully in business, bringing into governance the mindset of productivity, enterprise, and modern administrative engagement.

In Etsako, Hon. Sunny Ekpeson has continued to attract national attention as the youngest ALGON Chairman in Nigeria, representing a clear departure from the era where local government leadership was treated as the permanent preserve of ageing political operators disconnected from younger demographics.

In Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Hon. Eric Osawaru represents another example of the younger political generation now entrusted with leadership responsibilities, while in Oredo Local Government Area, Engr. Gabriel Iduseri equally reflects the growing confidence being reposed in younger administrators within the APC structure.

In Owan, Hon. Aitalegbe Ernest, popularly known as “China Boy,” has also emerged as one of the prominent young political figures gaining traction as the incoming Chairman of the local government, further reinforcing the expanding generational transition currently taking shape across Edo State.

The same pattern is visible across government institutions and strategic agencies.

Pastor Stanley Dave Ighodaro, a successful entrepreneur with thriving business interests in Europe, now heads the Edo State Parks and Gardens Agency. His emergence reflects an increasingly important shift towards bringing professionally exposed and globally minded younger individuals into governance and public administration.

Similarly, Kassim Otono, who serves as Special Adviser on Oil and Gas to the Executive Governor of Edo State, represents another example of younger technocratic involvement within the present administration. His inclusion within such a strategic sector underscores the growing confidence being placed in younger professionals and politically aware technocrats within government.

This is how enduring institutions are built.

A political party that refuses to regenerate itself eventually becomes intellectually stagnant, structurally weak, and electorally disconnected from evolving social realities.

Governor Monday Okpebholo deserves commendation for recognising that governance in a rapidly changing society cannot remain permanently tied to political methods and leadership assumptions developed several decades ago. Contemporary governance demands adaptability, technological awareness, stronger grassroots engagement, administrative energy, and a deeper connection with younger populations.

Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe equally deserves credit for helping stabilise the party while managing this difficult but necessary transition process. Generational shifts are never easy within political systems historically dominated by established interests. Resistance is inevitable. Political resentment is expected. Internal anxieties naturally emerge whenever old monopolies begin to weaken.

Leadership, however, requires courage.

The recently concluded primaries further revealed this evolving direction within the APC. The emergence of candidates such as Rt. Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Osazee Igbinovia, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu, Omosede Igbinedion, Sir Lucky Eseigbe, and Odianosen Okojie reflects a growing political philosophy that increasingly values capacity, grassroots relevance, contemporary appeal, and generational continuity.

Equally symbolic is the emergence of several young Acting Local Government Council Chairmen who are now candidates of the party in the forthcoming local government elections. That development sends a powerful message across Edo State that political participation is gradually becoming more accessible to younger people with competence, commitment, and organisational value.

For too long, many young people in Edo politics were reduced to political spectators, social media defenders, praise singers, or election-day foot soldiers while actual power remained tightly guarded elsewhere. Such a model was never sustainable.

A society that continuously sidelines its younger generation ultimately weakens its own political future.

The ongoing transition within Edo APC does not amount to hostility towards elders or experienced political actors. Experience remains valuable. Elder statesmen still possess institutional memory and political wisdom that younger actors can benefit from immensely. Mentorship, however, must never become political suffocation. Guidance must never evolve into permanent political domination.

Every generation deserves the opportunity to participate meaningfully in shaping the future it will eventually inherit.

That is precisely why the current direction of the APC leadership in Edo State deserves objective acknowledgement rather than emotional hostility.

Many of those attacking Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe today are not truly angry about party administration. Their deeper discomfort arises from the reality that political influence is gradually shifting away from old centres of control towards a newer generation of actors who may no longer depend entirely on traditional political gatekeepers for relevance or survival.

Societies evolve.

Political cultures evolve.

Leadership itself evolves.

No generation owns political power forever.

Ultimately, the future of Edo State cannot be built exclusively around recycled political veterans whose greatest political moments belong largely to the past. A forward-looking society must continuously create room for younger leadership, newer ideas, fresh administrative energy, and modern political thinking.

That future is already unfolding within the APC in Edo State.

History may eventually remember Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe and Governor Monday Okpebholo as central figures in the difficult but necessary political transition that began moving Edo away from recycled political dominance towards a broader and younger leadership culture capable of preparing the state for a different era.

Daniel Aroren Noah Osa-Ogbegie is a Benin based legal practitioner and public intellectual from Uhunmwode Local Government Area.

Politics

JUST IN: Omo-Agege Resigns From APC

Published

19 hours ago

May 27, 2026

Editor

Former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect.

In a letter to the Chairman of Orogun Ward 2, Ughelli North Local Government, Delta State, dated May 22, 2026, Omo-Agege said after reviewing recent developments within the ruling party and consulting with his associates and supporters, it is clear that his political objectives and those of his constituents are better served outside the party.

“I will not remain a sitting duck in a party where I cannot advance the interests of Delta Central, Delta State and Nigeria,” he said.

On Ovie Omo-Agege’s castle-in-the-air
“I thank the APC for the opportunity to serve as Deputy President of the 9th Senate. I wish the party well and have requested that my name be removed from all membership records, registers, and communication lists,” Omo-Agege added.

Omo-Agege, in a statement by his media adviser, Sunny Areh, affirmed that his focus remains on delivering development and effective representation for Delta Central, Delta State, and Nigeria. He added that he will seek to pursue these goals outside the APC.

Details shortly…

Politics

Amaechi Rejects ‘Concocted’ ADC Presidential Primary Results

Published

2 days ago

May 26, 2026

Editor

Former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the outcome of the party’s presidential primary election, describing the exercise as deeply flawed and lacking credibility.

The ADC on Monday conducted a nationwide direct primary to select its candidate for the 2027 presidential election, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Managing Director of the defunct FSB International Bank, and Amaechi emerging as the leading contenders.

Reacting in a statement issued on Tuesday, Amaechi alleged widespread voter disenfranchisement, manipulation and serious electoral malpractice during the exercise, insisting that the results being announced were “concocted” and did not reflect the will of party members.

According to him, the primary process was compromised from the outset, with several genuine party members allegedly denied the opportunity to participate in the election across different states.

Amaechi accused some party officials of undermining the integrity of the exercise through what he described as coordinated irregularities capable of damaging the credibility of the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He maintained that the conduct of the primary fell short of the democratic standards, transparency and fairness expected in a credible internal party election.

The former Rivers State governor called on the leadership of the ADC to urgently address the alleged irregularities and protect the democratic rights of party members.

He warned that failure to uphold transparency and internal democracy could weaken public confidence in the party and its ability to present itself as a viable alternative ahead of the next general elections.

Amaechi’s rejection of the process is expected to deepen internal tensions within the ADC as opposition realignments and political calculations ahead of 2027 continue to gather momentum.