Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has pledged to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the controversial acquisition of community lands and demolitions carried out by the previous administration of Godwin Obaseki.

This announcement was made during Governor Okpebholo’s visit on Monday to the affected communities of Oke-Oroma, Irhirhi-Obazagbon, and Ogheghe, located in Oredo and Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Areas.

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The visit came two years after the demolition of over 100 houses in the area, which rendered thousands homeless and caused property losses estimated in billions of naira.

In his remarks, the governor emphasized his administration’s commitment to justice and accountability.

“I remember that during my campaign here, I promised to come back, and now I am here. We hate injustice in this administration. That is why we are here and happy to meet all of you. We will listen to your voices,” he said.

Okpebholo assured the residents that the inquiry would thoroughly examine the rationale behind the demolition and subsequent acquisition of the lands by the previous government.

The findings will guide actions to return the lands to their rightful owners, if deemed appropriate.

He added, “In the next few days, I will invite you to the Government House and back it up with actions. A few days from now, we will set up a Commission of Inquiry to look into this land issue so that we can return your lands to you after the findings.

“If Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) have been issued on the lands and the reports confirm this, I will revoke them and return the lands to the people.”

The governor also promised to prioritize security in the affected areas, stating, “Our responsibility as a government is to provide security.

I will speak with the appropriate authorities, and security personnel will come in here to restore peace.”

The controversial demolitions occurred in October 2022, under the administration of Godwin Obaseki.

At the time, the state government claimed it had legally acquired the 1,229 hectares of land in 2017 for a new urban project known as “Coral City.”

According to Chris Nehikhare, the then-Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, 106 structures were marked for demolition, with 24 slated to be repurposed as government offices.

However, affected residents disputed the state’s claims, insisting they had legally acquired their plots.

The demolitions led to widespread criticism, with many describing the government’s actions as unjust and heavy-handed.

The Coral City project, a planned urban development estimated to cost N20 billion for its first phase, was aimed at transforming the area with new infrastructure.

During an engagement in 2023, developers expressed optimism about completing the first phase within six to nine months, citing support from financial partners.

The National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr Umar Ganduje suffers from verbal diarrhea and swollen ego with an agenda to destabilise the South West zone and create a crisis for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the home front.

This is the salve fired from the camp of Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, as parties gear up for hostilities for the renewal or not of his mandate in 2026.

In a statement in Osogbo on Tuesday signed by Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, they alleged that “Dr Ganduje is clearly unhappy with the peace and united front behind Mr President from the South West zone and has now launched vicious attacks to ignite regional political battles to weaken the President ahead of 2027.”

The statement in reaction to the vow by Dr Umar Ganduje to hijack Osun in 2026.

Rasheed said the anti-democratic utterances of the APC leader contrasted sharply with the democratic credentials of President Tinibu. He wondered why the APC leader would be found speaking like an amateur dictator without respect for history.

As a well-read politician, one would have expected Dr Ganduje to know that electoral contests depend mostly on local indexes and factors and that what played out in Edo and Ondo States were surely different from political facts on ground in Osun state.

Local permutations, grievances and interests dictate how people vote rather than superimposed force, the Spokesperson noted, citing the failure of the APC leader to win the Kano State governorship race for his party.

In Kano, the local peculiarities enforced the subsisting victory of the Kwankwasiyya group which beat the Ganduje caucus, despite their being in office for eight years.

He asked, “If Dr Ganduje failed in his own state because internal forces rejected his brand of politics, why is he thinking Osun factors which enthroned Gov Adeleke would not resist any attempt to disrespect the will of Osun people in 2026?”

According to the Spokesperson, Osun State is the cradle of Yoruba people where political freedom is cherished and where resistance to electoral fraud is a strong tradition, describing Dr Ganduje as “a threat to democracy and an insider enemy of President Tinubu.

“If Dr Ganduje truly loves Mr President, why is he pushing to destabilize the president’s home zone through open threats to violate electoral law and deny the electorate their rights to vote and be voted for? By threatening to hijack opposition states, the APC leader is undermining the general consensus among Yoruba people which accept Mr President as their own irrespective of political differences.

“If, however, the statement of the APC leader is borne out of ignorance, he is invited to study Osun politics to get better informed of the dynamics of this state’s politics and to appreciate that what works in Edo and Ondo cannot play out here for several reasons.

“In Osun State, the ruling party, the PDP is daily receiving thousands of decampees from opposition parties. The PDP in Osun is already a strong mass movement which cannot be overrun by a party chairman who failed to deliver his own state and who does not have the mandate of Mr President to ignite conflict in the South West zone.

“The PDP in Osun State is too deeply planted to be threatened or suppressed by any electoral robber and Governor Adeleke remains an extraordinarily popular leader whose mandate now or in 2026 cannot be hijacked by anti- democratic forces”, the Spokesperson noted.

Ondo State Governor-elect, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and his deputy will officially receive their certificates of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, confirmed the announcement, stating that the presentation ceremony will take place as scheduled.

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Aiyedatiwa triumphed in the Ondo governorship election with a total of 366,781 votes, defeating Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 117,845 votes.

The certificate presentation will mark the final step in formalizing his victory before his inauguration.