Benin, Edo – In a blistering press statement marking the first anniversary of Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo's inauguration, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has branded his administration a "report card of failure and frustration," accusing it of fostering insecurity, nepotism, economic paralysis, and illusory progress.

Signed by Publicity Secretary Bob-Manuel Omobumhe Umoru, the communiqué titled "Edo Is Not Shining But Bleeding Profusely in Uncertainty" delivers a withering 13/100 score, portraying a state adrift in "misplaced priorities" and "political sycophancy."

The PDP's salvo, issued hours after Okpebholo's optimistic anniversary address touting a "safer and freer" Edo with subdued cultism and prudent finances, escalates a year-long partisan feud.

While the governor's team highlighted arrests of over 300 cult leaders, demolitions of criminal hideouts, and investments in agriculture and roads, opposition voices decried these as superficial amid persistent hardships.

PDP Chairman Tony Aziegbemi, in recent salvos, has echoed calls for accountability, slamming fiscal opacity and abandoned projects from the prior Godwin Obaseki era—ironically now weaponized against Okpebholo.

Security tops the indictment, with the PDP alleging Edo has devolved into a "haven for criminals" where kidnappers, cultists, and bandits roam from Benin to Auchi, Ekpoma, and Uromi, abandoning farmlands and terrorizing roads.

The party lambasts the administration's "counterproductive" demolitions of innocent landlords' homes as punishment for tenants' alleged crimes, calling it "unjust" and bereft of intelligence-driven strategy.

This echoes earlier criticisms, including the April 2025 bulldozing of properties linked to kidnapping sponsors in Illeh and Uromi, which drew human rights concerns despite yielding over 20 arrests in July raids.

Okpebholo's defenders, however, tout the July-launched Special Security Squad's successes 120+ cultist arrests and a revamped Edo State Security Corps under retired military oversight as evidence of a "zero-tolerance" pivot that has restored nighttime safety.

On governance, the PDP decries an "adrift" administration lacking a "clear developmental blueprint," resulting in "abandoned projects" and "deteriorating infrastructure" that have left Benin City in "administrative decay."

This contrasts sharply with Okpebholo's claims of "motion with movement," including ₦166.5 billion in the 2025 budget for roads and agriculture, and inspections of ongoing flyovers at Ramat Park, Sapele Road, and Adesuwa Junction.

The N100 billion loan, secured in June from First Bank for an "agricultural revolution and infrastructural renewal," draws the harshest scrutiny: "Where is the impact?" the PDP demands, noting scant visible changes beyond two flyovers amid national inflation.

Critics like Aziegbemi warned it would double the state's debt in eight months, from Obaseki's N112 billion legacy though Okpebholo insists on "no reckless borrowing" while servicing N600 billion inherited liabilities, including the Radisson Hotel fiasco.

The "GlasgowGate" scandal looms large, with the PDP labeling the September 2025 Edo Global Investment Summit's $250 million EuroAfrica CCI deal a "hoax" and "elaborate scam."

Investigations, they claim, reveal the chamber's "no verifiable footprint" or credible history, with the event a "PR stunt" absent real investors silence since then "deafening."

The government hailed it as a five-year framework spanning 98 countries, but PDP's Osa-Ogbegie called it an "embarrassment," vowing scrutiny amid civil society doubts over the chamber's dead communication lines.

Economic woes compound the narrative: "Skyrocketing" living costs, "crisis-level" youth unemployment, and "struggling" businesses signal "crippling indecision," the PDP asserts, with "demoralized" civil servants and no investment pull.

Yet, Okpebholo's May Day hike of the minimum wage to N75,000 one of Nigeria's highest drew NLC praise for easing hardships, alongside 5,000+ teacher absorptions and 450 health hires.

Nepotism allegations sting: After a year, the cabinet remains "incomplete," with over 50 key posts allegedly funneled to Okpebholo's Uwesan community and ward, turning governance into a "family affair."

A botched imposition of an "outsider" as Iya Oloja of market women sparked resistance, the PDP notes.

Appointments like Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole (Health Commissioner, son of ex-Gov Adams Oshiomhole) fueled cries, though Deputy Gov Dennis Idahosa defended merit and noted Oshiomhole Sr.'s opposition.

By October, 20 commissioners were sworn in amid shake-up rumors, but earlier delays only nine by January drew fire.

Finally, the PDP mocks Okpebholo's "obsession" with securing 2.5 million votes for President Tinubu's 2027 reelection—despite his own "struggled" mandate—over "statecraft," citing directives for commissioners to don partisan regalia at functions as "immaturity."

The party vows "robust opposition," urging the governor to "eschew sycophancy" for wisdom.As anniversary events—from project inspections to judicial oaths—unfold, Edo's political fault lines deepen.

Okpebholo, in his address, reaffirmed the SHINE agenda: "Achievements so far are just the beginning."

With PDP's "toddler" barb lingering, the governor's second year promises intensified scrutiny and potential redemption in a state where promises clash with realities.