It is unfortunate, though not surprising, that Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, a former commissioner under the immediate-past administration, has once again chosen the path of bitter rhetoric and false commentary in his latest publication, “Six Months With Plenty Movement(d) With No Tangible Thrust Applied (f) and So, Zero Work(W) Done.” His attempt to discredit Governor Monday Okpebholo’s focused, people-centered governance within just six months reveals either a lack of sincere engagement with the current realities or an intentional display of political mischief.
We wish to remind Mr. Ifaluyi-Isibor that governance is not about noise-making or desperate media shows. It is about measurable impact, people-centered reforms, and a deliberate push to correct years of administrative misalignment — especially in a state where consultants took over core civil service functions and demoralized career civil servants.
Unlike the administration that Mr. Ifaluyi-Isibor served — which outsourced key roles in the civil service to external consultants who earned more and delivered less — Governor Okpebholo has brought relief and dignity back to the Edo workforce.
1. Prompt Payment of Salaries: Under this administration, workers receive their salaries on or before the 26th of each month. April 2025 salaries were even paid early before Easter.
2. 13th Month Salary: In a bold and generous move, the Governor paid a 13th month salary to all civil servants in December — a gesture that has not only boosted morale but also demonstrated a genuine interest in workers’ welfare.
3. Merit-Based Appointments: For the first time in many years, Permanent Secretaries have been appointed from within the civil service, not parachuted from private interests. This has restored faith, loyalty, and upward mobility within the service.
4. Removal of Suffocating Consultants: The Governor has ended the reign of consultants who exploited the system and stifled innovation. Today, civil servants are doing the work they were trained to do, and they’re doing it proudly and efficiently.
5. Salary Upgrade to N75,000: Edo State is among the very few states in Nigeria to increase its minimum wage to N75,000. While others are still debating wage adjustments, Governor Okpebholo acted. Talk, they say, is cheap; leadership is action.
6. Employment of 1,000 Cleaners: Rather than outsource sanitation to middlemen who paid peanuts, this government employed 1,000 cleaners directly into the civil service at full minimum wage. No more job insecurity. No more exploitation.
7. Filling of Critical Vacancies: In the last six months, this government has initiated mass recruitment into essential sectors. Teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, and administrators are being recruited. Over 2,000 Edo citizens are gaining meaningful civil service employment. That is not “zero work” — that is transformation in motion.
Ogbeide’s description of a comatose civil service is both insulting and misleading. Contrary to his claims, the civil service has witnessed a revival in work ethics, punctuality, and efficiency. What was “paperless” before was merely a PR gimmick cloaked in elite exclusion. Governor Okpebholo has matched digital innovation with human capacity development, ensuring that digital tools are actually improving service delivery — not just serving as window-dressing.
Edo’s position in national examination ranking is not determined by one man’s opinion in six months. Declines, where they exist, are the results of years of policy gaps that the present government is now fixing. With new teachers employed, and infrastructural upgrades being made, Edo’s education sector is rising again.
On health, the recruitment of doctors and nurses, as well as the ongoing rehabilitation of primary healthcare centers across the state, shows clearly where this government’s priorities lie — in saving lives, not scoring political points.
The only reference Ogbeide could make to any current economic success is to attribute it to the past administration. But he fails to mention that the current administration has taken deliberate steps to retain and expand investment portfolios in agriculture and oil palm development. Rather than destroy what was built, Governor Okpebholo is consolidating gains and creating room for more private-sector partnerships across agro-processing, infrastructure, and small business support.
The story of Edo Line buses is one that the people know too well — and they can distinguish between public showboating and functional public transport. The buses are not for fanfare. The government is establishing a sustainable transport scheme that will serve long-term needs, not temporary applause.
To suggest that this administration harbors cultists or has empowered hooligans is not only defamatory — it’s dangerous. The Governor has been consistent in supporting security agencies to tackle cultism and criminality across the state. Allegations without evidence are mere street gossip — unbecoming of someone who once served in government.
Ogbeide says “Joy will come again.” We say — joy has already come. It is in the salaries paid on time. It is in the thousands being newly employed. It is in the workers who are being respected again. It is in the humble but firm steps of a Governor who is working, not shouting.
Edo people are not blind. They see the difference between propaganda and performance. Between loud criticism and quiet progress. Between the past of elite privilege and the present of public inclusion.
We urge the people of Edo to stay focused, hopeful, and prayerful. The journey has begun, and six months in, Governor Monday Okpebholo is delivering real, measurable change — one policy, one reform, and one citizen at a time.
Joy is not coming — Joy is here.
