Widespread flooding across Benin City has triggered a political storm, as residents and stakeholders demand accountability over the $150 million the immediate-past administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki claimed to have spent on flood control.
The devastating floods, which rendered roads impassable and submerged homes, come just months after Obaseki publicly declared in June 2023 that his administration had committed over ₦225 billion to tackle erosion and flooding.
The failure of these efforts has not gone unnoticed. Fred Itua, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, in a statement on Wednesday, questioned the outcome of the massive expenditure.
“This disconnect between expenditure and outcome demands transparency,” Itua said. “If $150 million was truly spent on flood control, where are the projects? Who were the contractors? What were the deliverables?”
Rather than provide clarity, loyalists of the former governor have instead directed blame at the current administration, posting videos online mocking the Okpebholo government over the floods.
But Itua insists this amounts to deflection. “Governor Okpebholo has been in office for less than eight months. It is disingenuous to blame him for a problem rooted in years of neglect,” he argued, adding that the previous administration abandoned the Benin City Storm Water Master Plan initiated by Adams Oshiomhole in favour of vanity projects like the Museum of West African Art and the controversial Radisson Hotel project.
Responding to the accusations, the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a strongly worded statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Osa Nehikhare, accused the Okpebholo administration of shirking its responsibilities.
“After nearly nine months in office—enough to birth a human being—Okpebholo is still blaming Obaseki for his failures,” Nehikhare said. “He should stop the childish dereliction of duty and do the job he was installed to do.”
Nehikhare asserted that Obaseki had left behind comprehensive plans and structures for managing seasonal flooding, which the new administration allegedly ignored.
“Obaseki left extremely formidable projects, plans, and processes for annual flood preparation, but either out of mischief or incompetence, they have been discarded,” he said. “The people are now bearing the consequences.”
Despite the accusations, the Okpebholo government maintains it is making progress. “We have begun rehabilitation of major roads, construction of side drains, and reclamation of erosion-prone areas like the Upper Uteh–Temboga axis,” Itua noted. “These are practical, visible steps the previous government failed to take.”
As both sides trade blame, the people of Edo State continue to suffer the effects of poor infrastructure and years of unfulfilled promises. While the PDP insists the flood crisis reflects incompetence by the current government, the APC says only full disclosure of how the $150 million was spent can move the state forward.
