The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asserted that Governor Monday Okpebholo‘s ‘No vacancy in Aso Rock’ declaration was intended to mislead President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Naija News reports that Okpebholo had on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, while receiving the defected acting local government chairmen in the 17 councils from PDP to APC at Government House, Benin City, declared that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock for the 2027 presidential elections.
Responding to the declaration, the Publicity Secretary of Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement on Thursday, described what happened in the Festival Hall of Edo State Government House as content creation for the viewing pleasure of the President and the APC leadership in Abuja.
Nehikhare opined that all the duly elected local government council chairmen on the PDP platform remain intact, and no single party member defected to the APC in the State Government House.
He further claimed that Okpebholo is losing grip on the political space in Edo State and has resorted to falsehoods in a desperate attempt to mislead Tinubu and the leadership of the APC.
The statement reads, “It is quite unfortunate and shameful that his situation has degenerated to the point where he now has to assemble impostors to try to assure the President and his party leadership that he remains in control.
“But the reality is that he has completely lost his hold on the political reins in Edo State.
“To set the record straight, contrary to the misleading claim made in the statement by Fred Itua, Okpebholo’s Chief Press Secretary, no single chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decamped. All duly elected local government council chairmen under the PDP in Edo State remain fully intact.
“The people whom Itua referred to as ‘chairmen’ in his press statement are the illegal appointees of Okpebholo, whom he is trying to impose on the various local government councils.
“Whoever Okpebholo is trying to deceive or impress should be wary, as these are complete falsehoods, and there have been no political gains for him and his party in Edo State, as was incorrectly portrayed in the misleading press statement.
“What happened today in the Festival Hall of Edo State Government House can at best be described as content creation for the viewing pleasure of Mr. President and the APC leadership in Abuja.”
