Edo govt: Obaseki’s road projects were poorly executed

BENIN CITY — The Edo State Government has pointed an accusing finger at the immediate past administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki, blaming the widespread deterioration of roads across the state on substandard work carried out under his watch.

ValidViewNetwork can confirm that the accusation, made by officials under the current administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo, marks an escalation in what has become a recurring blame narrative around Edo’s crumbling road network.

A blame game with deep roots

The irony is hard to miss. During his own tenure, Obaseki repeatedly attributed Edo’s bad roads to federal government neglect, famously getting his convoy stuck on the flooded Benin-Sapele Road and insisting the federal authorities, not his state government, bore responsibility for major highways running through Edo.

His successor is now turning that same finger-pointing dynamic back onto him, this time over roads and projects executed directly under his administration.

Findings by ValidViewNetwork show that Okpebholo, since taking office, has repeatedly criticised the pace and quality of infrastructure work carried out under Obaseki, at one point suggesting that funds meant for road maintenance could have gone further if properly utilised.

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The latest allegation of substandard work fits into that broader critique of his predecessor’s infrastructure legacy.

ValidViewNetwork gathered that for ordinary Edo residents who have endured years of deteriorating roads regardless of which administration or which level of government is assigned blame, the latest exchange is unlikely to bring immediate relief.

Civil society voices in the state have, in the past, urged successive governments to spend less energy on assigning blame and more on coordinated repairs, particularly on major arteries like Benin-Auchi and Benin-Sapele roads that link the state capital to other local government areas. ValidViewNetwork reports.