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MONDAY OKPEBHOLO AND THE WAR AGAINST WISDOM

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By DAN Osa-Ogbegie, Esq. There is a kind of leadership that mistakes destruction for courage — that believes y the only way to prove strength is to undo what came before. That unfortunate spirit now seems to animate Edo State under Governor Monday Okpebholo. His open hostility towards projects linked to former Governor Godwin Obaseki has become a theatre of regression. Nothing illustrates this dangerous impulse more clearly than his attitude to the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) and the regrettable protest of 5th November, 2025 in Benin City, cheered on by a government that seems to prefer ignorance to illumination. The Museum of West African Art is not a partisan creation. It is a visionary, home-grown cultural and research institution conceived to re-anchor Nigeria at the centre of West Africa’s artistic and historical narrative. Its first building, The Institute, opens on 11th November, 2025 as part of a multi-phase campus combining galleries, conservation laboratori...
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CITY BOY COMEDY: THE NEW LOW OF EDO POLITICS

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By DAN Osa-Ogbegie, Esq. There comes a time in a people’s history when farce begins to wear the robe of tragedy. That moment arrived in Edo State the day Jarret Tenebe and Governor Monday Okpebholo mounted a rented stage to announce, with the blithe confidence of jesters, that they would deliver 3.5 million votes to the President in 2027, in a state whose entire voters’ register barely scratches 2.7 million. What mathematics of deceit is this? What arithmetic of delusion makes men mistake noise for numbers? Edo watched in disbelief as the supposed custodians of the ruling party and the state transformed governance into a carnival of mediocrity — dancing around false statistics as though governance were a street fair and not a sacred trust. Instead of confronting the aching realities that define Edo today — joblessness, insecurity, urban decay, abandoned hospitals, and a civil service gasping for reform — Okpebholo has chosen to preside over rallies of distraction. While mar...
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Boy, 16 killed, 6 injured in NDLEA, suspected drug barons clash in Edo

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By Editor  Oct 31, 2025 A 16-year-old student was reported shot dead while six others sustained degrees of gunshot injuries during an alleged attack involving the combined team of military and personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), suspected drug barons, and cannabis cultivators in Edo State. DailyMonitorngr reports that the attack occurred on October 27, 2025, at Okpuje Community in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Among the injured persons is an officer of NDLEA who was shot on the hand during the attack and is currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the state. The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku disclosed this at the plenary sitting on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. Agbebaku, who condemned the alleged killing, expressed sympathy to the deceased, the injured victims and their families. While urging the Commissioner of Police in the State, Monday Agbonika, to investigate the accident, he...
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CRPP mourns ThisDay staff, urges Gov Okpebholo to enrol practising journalists in free Health Insurance scheme

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Dr Samson Isibor, Edo State chairman of CRPP   Editor   Oct 30, 2025 The  Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP) in Edo state has urged  Governor Monday Okpebholo to enrol all practising journalists in the state into the State's  Health Insurance scheme. Dailymonitorngr reports that the Chairman and Secretary of the body, Dr Samson Isibor and C.Nkama made the call in a statement in Benin City. Isibor said the appeal became necessary following the sudden death of Mr Adibe Austin Emenyonu, the State Correspondent of ThisDay newspaper on  October 17, 2025, in Benin City. He opined that most of the journalists are working under strenuous conditions due to the high cost of living in the state. He added that the practice of the profession becomes a herculean task for journalists in the state, coupled with the economic downturn, for them and other citizens to purchase drugs and food items.  The CRPP chairman, also appealed to the Monday ...
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Kogi West Senator and Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Reps Shun Endorsement of Tinubu and Ododo Second Term

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By Moses Friday The political tension in Kogi West and the Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituencies has reached a critical point as Senator Sunday Karimi and Hon. Salman Idris have openly distanced themselves from the widely publicized endorsement of Tinubu and Ododo’s second term.  Their absence from the key rallies and official APC state events sends clear signals of discord and a break from the expected party unity, raising questions about loyalty and true intentions within the state leadership. Senator Karimi did not hold back in his recent press statement, labeling the endorsement as an act of “bullying,” which ignited sharp criticism from his own Western senatorial district leaders who quickly branded him ungrateful for the support he has received. On the other hand, Hon. Salman Idris has remained publicly silent regarding his deliberate and conspicuous absence from APC functions in Kogi State, despite being seen in the state during the endorsement rally.  How...
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Youths arrest, handover suspected female trafficker to Police after escaping from custody in Edo

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The suspected female kidnapper/ trafficker in the middle of the victims  By Editor Aug 24, 2025 Youths at the PZ area on the Benin-Sapele road, Benin City, have reportedly rearrested a female suspected trafficker simply identified as Mrs Anita, who allegedly escaped from the South-Ibie Divisional Police headquarters, in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State. Dailymonitorngr gathered that the youths in the community located in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, however, handed over the suspect to the Edo State Police Command. The Public Relations Officer of the Command, Moses Yamu confirmed the rearrest when contacted. Yamu added that the suspect is already in the Command's custody, and the investigation is ongoing. DailyMonitorgnr recalls that on August 17, 2025, hundreds of youths and women in  the South Ibie community protested the alleged escape of the suspected kidnapper and human trafficker from the police station located in the area The protesters wh...
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4 Brigade, Benin defeats others to emerge winner of Army's 2 Division combat competition

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Brig-Gen Ebenezer Oduyebo, Commander 4 Brigade, Benin, with the trophy presented to the Brigade as the overall winner of the 2025, 2 Division Inter-Bridge Combat Proficiency Competition. By Editor Aug 24, 2025 Courage, determination, enthusiasm and the spirit of resilience were at play at the Nigerian Army Cantonment, Ekehuan, Benin City, Edo State, on Friday as young officers from different formations under the 2 Division of the Nigerian Army converged in Benin for the 2025 Inter-Brigade Combat Proficiency Competition. With a display of dexterity to outclass one another, participants were full of excitement throughout the events involving not less than 6 military formations. These formations are 4 Brigade, Benin; 32 Brigade, Akure; 12 Brigade, Lokoja; 22 Brigade, Ilorin; 42 Engrs Brigade, Ibadan and the 2 Division Garrison, Ibadan. At the grand finale of the competition, the junior officers from these formations competed in obstacle crossing. They participated in activitie...
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