Governor Monday Okpebholo has fired a political warning shot at Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, declaring that the former Anambra governor must seek clearance before visiting Edo State or risk facing dire consequences.
Speaking at a high-profile defection rally in Uromi, where PDP’s lone House of Reps member from Edo, Marcus Onobun, officially joined the APC, Okpebholo pulled no punches.
“There’s a new sheriff in town,” Okpebholo thundered before a cheering crowd. “Obi cannot come to Edo without informing me. His safety won’t be guaranteed and if anything happens to him, he’ll bear the consequences.”
The governor’s outburst comes nearly two weeks after Obi visited Benin and donated N15 million to St. Philomena Hospital School of Nursing a gesture that Okpebholo mocked as contradictory to Obi’s famously frugal “no-shishi” image.
“He say he no get shishi so where he get N15 million to give away?” Okpebholo asked, linking Obi’s visit to unrest that reportedly left three people dead.
With tensions rising and political loyalties shifting in Edo, Okpebholo’s message to Obi was unmistakable: stay out, or check in or else.