Oshiomhole Backs Suspension Of Edo LG Chairmen, Deputies

Former Governor of Edo State and current senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has thrown his weight behind the suspension of the 18 local government chairmen and their deputies by the Edo State House of Assembly.

Speaking to journalists at his residence in Iyamho, Estako West Local Government Area, Oshiomhole alleged that the council chairmen were involved in financial mismanagement, accusing them of funnelling substantial sums to the immediate past governor, Godwin Obaseki.

Oshiomhole said, “People already know that there is a new sheriff in town. He is stopping all the bad guys and stopping the bleeding that Edo was going through.

“It is not a secret that Local Government Councils were paying huge amounts of money to his predecessor, and he says, ‘stop,’ not while I am here. We want the money to be used to develop the localities.”

The Edo State House of Assembly had, on December 17, 2024, suspended all 18 local government chairmen and their deputies for two months over alleged insubordination and gross misconduct.

The suspension followed a petition by Governor Monday Okpebholo, who accused the council executives of failing to submit financial account statements of their respective local governments to the state government.

In a related development, Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okpebholo, issued a statement on Friday praising the governor’s performance in his first month in office.

The statement, shared in Benin City, noted that Oshiomhole had expressed satisfaction with Okpebholo’s pragmatic approach to governance.

The former governor observed that Edo residents could now “experience true and practical governance after eight years of Obaseki’s rhetoric and MOUs.”