Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has fired back at his successor, Monday Okpebholo, declaring that no one, including the sitting governor, has the power to prevent him from visiting Benin City or any part of the state.
The sharp exchange was triggered over the weekend when Governor Okpebholo, in a television interview, dared Obaseki to return to Edo to campaign against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
Okpebholo boasted that the former governor would be met with hostility from residents, including children, because of his alleged poor record in office.
“Obaseki dares not come here. If Asiwaju does not win his re-election, I will resign as a governor,” he said, insisting that the entire state now backs the President.
In a viral video response on Monday, Obaseki described the governor’s threats as the rantings of a “villager” and an insult to his person.
“This is a villager threatening me that I cannot come to Benin, and that when I come, he will show me. Me! When I am ready to go, we will all come. This is an insult,” Obaseki fired.
He revealed that since leaving office over a year ago, he deliberately stayed silent about the new administration to give it room to perform. “For one year since I left office, I have not said a word on his government… I said to myself that I would give them the opportunity to shine,” he added.
The former governor accused Okpebholo of starting the provocation by attacking his personality and even sponsoring people to disrupt an event he attended in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Tensions between the two camps have simmered since the September 2024 governorship election that brought Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to power, ending Obaseki’s eight-year tenure under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Earlier clashes include accusations by the PDP that the new administration was attempting to take credit for projects completed under Obaseki, such as the 7.5-kilometre Temboga Road.
