By Lawrence Agbo
Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State, has said Peter Obi won the state during the 2023 presidential election because the administration of former governor Godwin Obaseki failed to meet the expectations of the people.
Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, Okpebholo argued that Obi’s victory in Edo was largely a protest vote against the previous government rather than a reflection of permanent political support.
According to him, the people of Edo were dissatisfied with the leadership under Obaseki, which created the conditions that allowed Obi to defeat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the state during the last election.
“Peter Obi defeated Tinubu in Edo State in 2023 because the governor then, Obaseki, was not working,” he said.
The governor expressed confidence that the political situation would be different in 2027, insisting that Edo voters were already seeing improvements in governance and development, adding that federal allocations and support from Tinubu were helping the state government deliver on its promises.
“The people of Edo State will vote for Bola Tinubu in 2027 because of the work we are doing and because of the money Tinubu is releasing to us to work for him,” he stated.
Okpebholo also dismissed the strength of Obi’s political influence in the South-East, questioning whether the former Labour Party presidential candidate could even deliver his home state of Anambra in a future election.
He argued that with Governor Charles Soludo in office and enjoying public support, the political dynamics in Anambra had changed significantly.
“Can Peter Obi even deliver his state, Anambra? What happened in the past cannot happen now because you have a working governor in the state and people love him,” he added.
The governor further revealed that some governors who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress told him they had never experienced governance this favourably and wanted Tinubu to return for a second term to complete his agenda.
“I spoke to one or two Governors who defected to the APC, and they told me we’ve never had it this good; that is why they said, ‘Yes, we must work with this man [Tinubu], we want him to come back for a second term so he can perfect what he started,” says Okpebholo
