Orbih, Aziegbemi Factions of Edo PDP Hold Divergent Views On Okpebholo’s N100bn Infrastructure Loan

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The two factions of the Edo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, have disagreed on the N100bn loan facility approved on Tuesday for Governor Monday Okpebholo by the state House of Assembly.
While the State Caretaker Committee led by Dr. Tony Aziegbemi kicked against the loan arguing that it had exponentially increased the state’s debt portfolio, the Chief Dan Osi Orbih-led faction said it was not opposed to the governor’s efforts “to secure loans for meaningful infrastructural development”, provided “such loans are transparently utilized and directed at projects that will tangibly improve the lives of our people”.
Recall that the approval for the loan followed a letter to the House on Monday, addressed to the speaker, Blessing Agbebaku and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Musa Umar Ikhilor, who stated that the contractual loan facility would be sourced from the First Bank Nigeria Plc.
The letter, titled “Request for Legislative Approval of N100 billion”, explained that the loan would support contractors’ financing for infrastructural projects in various parts of Edo.
The request was unanimously supported by the lawmakers at the Committee of the Whole who noted that it would help complete all ongoing infrastructure projects in the state.
But upbraiding the government for what it considered a “reckless borrowing” and mortgaging of the future of the state “to foot the bill of a greedy few”, Aziegbemi decried perceived lack of transparency surrounding the loan.
Expressing grave concern at the development, the factional caretaker committee chairman in a statement dated June 25, 2025, observed that whereas the Debt Management Office (DMO) put Edo’s total domestic debt since creation on 27 August, 1991 as at December 31 2024 at N112, 000,000,000, (One Hundred and Twelve Billion Naira) “If this new loan is accessed, Sen. Okpebholo would have effectively doubled the state’s domestic debt profile in less than Eight months”.
He said, “What is particularly disturbing is the complete absence of transparency surrounding this loan. No detailed breakdown of proposed projects has been made public. No information has been provided regarding the identity of nominated contractors, the interest rate, repayment terms, or timeline for execution. The people of Edo deserve to know what commitments are being made on their behalf and at what cost”.
Aziegbemi, who also knocked the House of Assembly for approving such significant financial obligation without public scrutiny or clear justification, regretted that “The once vibrant State Assembly has abandoned its constitutional duty to rein in the excesses of the Executive Branch of Government”.
He said the state Assembly “must be aware that infrastructure loans of this magnitude are ordinarily sourced from development finance institutions on low interest rate/concessional terms”, adding, “Securing such a facility from a commercial bank with high interest rates is both fiscally irresponsible and economically short sighted”.
While noting that “At the prevailing interest rate of 30% and add Ons, Edo State will be paying 35 billion Naira annually just as interest”, Aziegbemi described this as “alarming and acutely not sustainable”.
Insinuating a sinister political motive in the loan, the factional PDP chairman alleged that
“It appears to be nothing but another conduit pipe to slush funds, which Okpebholo plans to service his endless list of godfathers and political thugs who helped him steal the people’s mandate during the last governorship election.
Dr. Aziegbemi said “This lack of transparency is especially troubling given the prevailing political context. With the Supreme Court set to deliver judgement in the appeal over the disputed 2024 governorship election which the APC stole in collusion with INEC, the timing of this borrowing calls for vigilance. Edo’s resources belong to the people, not to any party or individual seeking to hold on to power through the courts”.
But distancing itself from the stance of the Aziegbemi-led faction loyal to the immediate past governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki, the factional publicity secretary of the Orbih-led caretaker committee, Bob-Manuel Umoru categorically disassociated themselves from the statement by Aziegbemi who he described as the “self-styled and shameless factional chairman of the now-defunct Obaseki camp”.
Disowning the factional chairman in a statement dated June 26, 2025, Umoru stated that “For the avoidance of doubt, Tony Aziegbemi is not the Acting Chairman of Edo PDP and lacks the legitimacy, moral standing, and party endorsement to speak on our behalf”.
Dismissing Aziegbemi’s statement as “empty rhetoric”, Umoru said “It is both amusing and insulting that a man who stood idly by while Edo State was looted under Obaseki’s eight years of catastrophic misrule now attempts to preach financial prudence and offer unsolicited analysis on government borrowing’”.
Continuing, he said, “Where was his voice when his principal was plunging Edo State into unprecedented debt with nothing to show? No roads. No industries. No infrastructure. No transparency.
“Mr. Aziegbemi’s empty rhetoric failed to mention the total sum Obaseki borrowed, nor could he identify a single landmark project tied to those funds. The loans allegedly taken for agriculture, infrastructure, and other ‘classified’ purposes vanished into a black hole leaving Edo people to bear the burden of debt without a trace of development.
“Tony Aziegbemi’s outdated propaganda belongs in the graveyard of Obaseki’s failed legacy, not in the public discourse of today’s Edo. He should be more concerned about helping his former principal account for the hundreds of millions of dollars that disappeared under his watch.
“Let it be clearly stated: the Edo PDP is not opposed to Governor Monday Okpebholo’s efforts to secure loans for meaningful infrastructural development. We urge him to ensure such loans are transparently utilised and directed at projects that will tangibly improve the lives of our people”.
Umoru further stated that as a party, “we are committed to responsible opposition, constructive, not bitter. We will hold the ruling party accountable, demand performance, and ensure that the promises made to the good people of Edo State are not forgotten. But we will not allow impostors and political relics to speak for us. The Edo PDP belongs to the people, not to those who sold it for crumbs”.