Inside Edo
Anselm Ojezua in hot seat as MonITNG demands roadmap to transparency on Edo multi-billion road deals
Written By: Emmanuel Ikhenebome
23 Nov 2025 04:13 AM
Benin, Edo – As the dust settles on former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki's controversial "billionaire factory" legacy, the spotlight has zeroed in on one of its most prominent alleged beneficiaries, Anselm Ojezua, the onetime APC kingpin turned infrastructure heavyweight whose personal registration as a state contractor stands accused of securing a "good number" of lucrative road deals from public coffers.
In a pointed escalation of its transparency crusade, civic tech platform MonITNG has fired off an open message to Obaseki's ex-Commissioner Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, demanding a ledger of every asphalt mile linked to Ojezua complete with costs, timelines, and proof that Edo's pothole-plagued arteries actually got the glow-up promised.
The salvo, posted Saturday, builds on Ifaluyi-Isibor's viral slip-up earlier this week, where he boasted that Obaseki's eight-year tenure (2016–2024) minted at least 10 quiet billionaires through fat state contracts, including roads clocking in at an eyebrow-raising ₦1 billion per kilometer across a claimed 7,000km network.
"Human beings, not aliens, got those contracts," the ex-commissioner quipped in defense of his old boss, name-dropping Ojezua's outfit as a key player in the road-building bonanza.
What was pitched as a pat on the back for local empowerment has morphed into a powder keg, with MonITNG branding it "systemic graft on wheels" and calling for forensic headlights on every deal.
Ojezua, a lawyer and veteran politician cut his teeth as Edo APC state chairman from 2018 until a fractious 2020 defection to the PDP alongside Obaseki, whom he backed in a contentious re-election amid party infighting.
His pivot from APC loyalist to Obaseki ally drew court battles and factional barbs, but also positioned him as a fixture in the administration's inner circle.
Public records confirm Ojezua's foray into contracting, as he is listed as a registered service provider with the Edo State Public Procurement Agency (EDPPA).
"Edo people want you to list all the road contracts awarded, the total cost, the companies involved, and whether these roads truly exist in the lengths and quality you claim," the open letter to Ifaluyi-Isibor (@exquisiteOG) reads, tagging heavyweights like @officialEFCC and @icpcnigeria for backup.
If the 7,000km boast holds, a figure Obaseki's camp has touted as a cornerstone of Edo's infrastructure boom, purportedly lifting the state's GDP from $10 billion to $26 billion, then at ₦1billion per km, that's a staggering ₦7 trillion tab on taxpayers.
Yet, citizen reports and independent audits paint a grimmer picture, as a 2024 Nigerian Society of Engineers assessment pegged just 20-30% of Edo's roads as "passable," with rural stretches in Udomi, Okpella, and Etsako LGA often impassable during the rainy season.
The uproar ripples beyond roads.
MonITNG's missive ties Ojezua's spotlight to the unnamed 10 billionaires, demanding names, plus audits of SUBEB's 200+ school renovations (many still leaking despite billions spent) and vanity projects like the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and Agriculture Hubs.
For Ojezua and the ghosts of Obaseki's empire, the mileage just got a lot tougher to clock.
In a pointed escalation of its transparency crusade, civic tech platform MonITNG has fired off an open message to Obaseki's ex-Commissioner Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, demanding a ledger of every asphalt mile linked to Ojezua complete with costs, timelines, and proof that Edo's pothole-plagued arteries actually got the glow-up promised.
The salvo, posted Saturday, builds on Ifaluyi-Isibor's viral slip-up earlier this week, where he boasted that Obaseki's eight-year tenure (2016–2024) minted at least 10 quiet billionaires through fat state contracts, including roads clocking in at an eyebrow-raising ₦1 billion per kilometer across a claimed 7,000km network.
"Human beings, not aliens, got those contracts," the ex-commissioner quipped in defense of his old boss, name-dropping Ojezua's outfit as a key player in the road-building bonanza.
What was pitched as a pat on the back for local empowerment has morphed into a powder keg, with MonITNG branding it "systemic graft on wheels" and calling for forensic headlights on every deal.
Ojezua, a lawyer and veteran politician cut his teeth as Edo APC state chairman from 2018 until a fractious 2020 defection to the PDP alongside Obaseki, whom he backed in a contentious re-election amid party infighting.
His pivot from APC loyalist to Obaseki ally drew court battles and factional barbs, but also positioned him as a fixture in the administration's inner circle.
Public records confirm Ojezua's foray into contracting, as he is listed as a registered service provider with the Edo State Public Procurement Agency (EDPPA).
"Edo people want you to list all the road contracts awarded, the total cost, the companies involved, and whether these roads truly exist in the lengths and quality you claim," the open letter to Ifaluyi-Isibor (@exquisiteOG) reads, tagging heavyweights like @officialEFCC and @icpcnigeria for backup.
If the 7,000km boast holds, a figure Obaseki's camp has touted as a cornerstone of Edo's infrastructure boom, purportedly lifting the state's GDP from $10 billion to $26 billion, then at ₦1billion per km, that's a staggering ₦7 trillion tab on taxpayers.
Yet, citizen reports and independent audits paint a grimmer picture, as a 2024 Nigerian Society of Engineers assessment pegged just 20-30% of Edo's roads as "passable," with rural stretches in Udomi, Okpella, and Etsako LGA often impassable during the rainy season.
The uproar ripples beyond roads.
MonITNG's missive ties Ojezua's spotlight to the unnamed 10 billionaires, demanding names, plus audits of SUBEB's 200+ school renovations (many still leaking despite billions spent) and vanity projects like the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and Agriculture Hubs.
For Ojezua and the ghosts of Obaseki's empire, the mileage just got a lot tougher to clock.
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