The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party and the state government are at loggerheads over allegations that Governor Monday Okpebholo and his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, have abandoned their duties for foreign trips, while also planning to spend N4.2bn on luxury vehicles for newly nominated commissioners.

In a statement on Thursday, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, accused the governor and his deputy of “reckless dereliction of responsibility,” claiming Edo had been left in a leadership vacuum amid worsening insecurity and economic hardship.

He alleged that the governor’s request for the confirmation of 28 commissioner-nominees would result in the “most bloated executive council in Edo’s history,” and that the government had already concluded plans to purchase 28 SUVs at N150m each.

“This reckless expansion of government comes on top of a growing army of advisers, board chairmen, and heads of parastatals, which has driven the cost of governance in Edo to an all-time high,” Nehikhare said.

The PDP also alleged that workers’ entitlements were being delayed, public projects abandoned, and insecurity worsening, while the governor and his deputy embarked on “endless foreign junkets.”

“Are Okpebholo and Idahosa unaware that farmers have abandoned their farmlands due to armed gangs, that kidnappers terrorise highways, and that traders are forced to close early out of fear? Edo people deserve leadership, not junketing abroad,” the PDP said.

Responding, however, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Fred Itua, dismissed the allegations as “reckless, misleading, and desperate,” insisting that the state has not been left without leadership.

He said the deputy governor, Idahosa, was “presently in Edo State, diligently discharging his responsibilities,” adding that the PDP’s claim was a “product of mischief and deliberate falsehood.”

“The PDP must be reminded that governance in Edo today is not run on propaganda or guesswork but on systems, structures, and accountability,” Itua said in a statement titled ‘PDP Goofs Again’.

He argued that Edo remains one of the top three states in Nigeria with the highest minimum wage at N75,000, contrary to the PDP’s claims about workers’ welfare.

On education, health, and infrastructure, Itua blamed the immediate past administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki, under whose PDP-led government “no meaningful recruitment or critical investment was carried out for eight years.”

“If schools lack teaching personnel and hospitals are in disrepair, then the blame rests squarely on Obaseki’s government, not the current administration. Edo people know where the rot came from,” he said.

On the allegation of an over-bloated cabinet, the government said inclusiveness was being wrongly portrayed as excess.

“The current administration is building a government of capacity, competence, and representation across all senatorial districts. It remains resolute in delivering the dividends of democracy, restoring Edo’s pride, and securing a prosperous future,” Itua added.