Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has made a bold pledge: he will resign from office if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu fails to win Edo State in the 2027 presidential election.
Okpebholo made the declaration during a conversation with veteran journalist Babajide Otitoju, expressing confidence that Edo’s political landscape has shifted strongly in Tinubu’s favour. According to him, the president’s influence is widely felt across the state.
“Asiwaju (Tinubu) is even more popular than me here now because Edo people already know that what I’m doing is because of Asiwaju’s impact. I’m telling you. You will see the kind of result that will come out from here because there’s no opposition here in Edo. Everybody is for Asiwaju here,” he said.
When Otitoju raised the possibility of supporters of former Governor Godwin Obaseki opposing the APC in 2027, Governor Okpebholo dismissed the idea outright.
“Who? Obaseki. I’m telling you anytime he comes to Edo, wherever he is, you’ll be hearing me now. Let him come. If he comes, I bet with you,” he said, even extending his pinky finger to Otitoju and asking, “Can you bet?”
He argued that Obaseki’s alleged poor performance as governor has made him unwelcome in the state. “You cannot scam Edo and come back here,” he declared. “He cannot come. I’m telling you. Because of his poor record. His poor record will not make him to come. When children can stand to pray for me, no child on the street will pray for Obaseki. No mother on the street will pray for Obaseki.”
Addressing the Labour Party’s previous gains in Edo,Okpebholo insisted the party has become irrelevant. “When? Labour Party. In the election that took place, that by-election that took place in Edo Central and Ovia, did you see them? We have never produced the kind of result we produced in Esan. Some people, Edo people, have never even told Asiwaju thank you,” he said.
He pointed to Tinubu-backed infrastructural projects as key reasons Edo voters would support the president again. “You see that flyover? It’s very dear to Edo people. You see the one in Adesuwa? It’s very dear to Edo people. You see that road we are doing? Sapele Road? It’s very dear to Edo people. So these are the things that will speak for Asiwaju. And he will win here. Perfectly.”
Despite Otitoju’s warnings, Governor Okpebholo doubled down on his vow: “If Asiwaju does not win here, I will resign as governor. I am telling you. I am the one telling you. There is no election here for him. My brother, forget it.”
The governor described his political approach as grassroots-driven, crediting his inspiration to the late Chief Tony Anenih. “I understood Chief Anenih. My style is not thuggery. It is grassroots. You don’t see me with elites; you see me with ordinary people on the streets,” he said.
