Benin-Asaba Road: Stop Deceiving Edo People, Nigerians, PDP Tells Okpebholo 

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City 

The Edo State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the state Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, to focus on delivering quality, impactful, and people-oriented projects — not chasing shadows or basking in borrowed achievements.

The PDP also noted that most of the achievements of the Okpebholo administration exist only in press statements, propaganda, half truths and falsehood to cover its glaring failure.

In a statement by the Publicity Secretary of the party, Chris Nehikhare, yesterday, and made available to journalists in Benin City, the party said the only visible milestone after nine months at the Dennis Osadebey Avenue currently occupied by the governor, remains a string of disjointed press briefings and photo ops — all designed to create a false impression of progress.

According to Nehikhare, “Contrary to the propaganda being churned out by the Okpebholo administration, the Benin-Asaba Expressway reconstruction project was initiated, structured, and finalised under the immediate past PDP-led administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki.”

He claimed that “In January 2024, Governor Obaseki signed a landmark N228 billion concession agreement with Triple A Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, InfraCorp, and Africa Plus Partners for the comprehensive redevelopment of the expressway. The project falls under the federal government’s Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).

“This was not just another government contract — it was a well-thought-out Public-Private Partnership (PPP), anchored on a solid funding and implementation framework aimed at reducing pressure on public finances while unlocking long-term economic gains for Edo and Nigeria at large.

“Only a leader with vision, capacity, and competence — like Obaseki — could conceptualise and midwife such a project. It is therefore shameful for a government that had no role in its conception to now desperately seek to appropriate the glory.

“The strategic importance of the Benin-Asaba Expressway — linking the South-west, South-south, and South-east corridors — cannot be overstated. While the federal government provided regulatory approvals (as is required for federal roads), it stalled the project’s progress until it had successfully installed its preferred government in Edo State. This political maneuvering, at the expense of timely infrastructure delivery, speaks volumes of APC’s priorities.

“Governor Okpebholo’s staged inspection tours and photo ops do not translate into actual work. It is baffling — but not surprising — that he would rather claim ownership of a project far beyond his conceptual and administrative capabilities than initiate any of his own.”