The chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Jarrett Tenebe, has come to the defense of the state’s governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, following public criticism of the governor’s presentation of the 2025 budget estimates before the State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
Recall that netizens took to social media to ridicule the governor for allegedly stuttering over numeric figures of the proposed budget size during the presentation to the State House of Assembly.
According to the viral video on social media, Governor Okpebholo stuttered, “The Edo State 2025 Appropriation Bill of 6 billion… 650… 605 billion… 76 thou… 76 million…
“Let me take it again. 506 billion… 605 billion… sorry… 776 billion… sorry, it’s confusing me.”
But, in a video response, the APC chairman dismissed the criticism, describing it as baseless. He attributed the governor’s error to human fallibility, stating, “Social media has been agog with our governor’s budget presentation about a mistake on 650 billion and the rest of it all. It’s a normal thing; humans make such mistakes, and a lot of people make such mistakes.”
The chairman further argued that Governor Okpebholo’s stuttering was an indication of his honesty in contrast with the state’s immediate-past governor and others. “I don’t know figures. You see, that is how to know original and innocent people. Obaseki will not make such mistakes because he has stolen billions before. Asue Ighodalo will not make such mistakes because he has stolen billions before. Monday is not a thief, so he’s not familiar with figures,” Tenebe said.
He dismissed the backlash, insisting that the governor’s performance should speak for itself. “So, anybody who wants to talk can continue to talk. It’s nonsense. He’s the governor of the state, he’s performing, and he will continue to perform. And anybody who does not like his face should go to hell and burn to ashes, period, and thank you,” Tenebe concluded.
