No Retreat, No Relapse: Governor Okpebholo Moves to Cement the Gains of 2025 and Drive Sustained Development
By Comrade Ukato Thomas
The Aegean Stable was filthy. For almost a decade, the State groaned under the Iron fists of a technocratic behemoth. All sectors in Edo State were held by the jugular: squeezing life out of it, and the heart beat of the Nation suffered from a case of near functional asphyxiation.
Power is transient, so is tyranny. Soon, it was dusk, curtains dropped, and the administration of the erstwhile Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, came to its end, leaving behind a horrific and sad tale of woes, sectoral dysfunctionality, decadence, and systemic paralysis especially in infrastructure, security, education, and human empowerment.
Alas, grace spoke, divinity anchored in Edo, and a panacea, not just a respite, came in the form of Senator Monday Okpebholo. Passionate yet firm, focused and resolute, with a heart trained for service, a being refined and forged by the furnace of life, experience, love for humanity and godliness, he didn't only hit the ground running; he bulldozed it, paving a broad way to sustainable progress and sectoral transformation. 2025 witnessed an unprecedented momentum in governance that is alien to the good people of Edo State. The administration of His Excellency, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State, demystified governance, made it simple, functional, responsive, and practical.
Armed with the magical wand and the progressive manuscript, The SHINE AGENDA, our ebullient Governor has shown that mere verbal prattlings cannot move a pebble, but deliberate, focused, and consistent actions can move mountains. In 2025, the pillars of the novel and innovative flyovers sprang from the depths of the earth with the speed of a spider spinning its web, gully sites reclaimed with the ease of erasing a footprint on the beach sand, and countless road construction projects completed with a lot ongoing projects across the three Senatorial districts of the State turning Edo into a huge construction site.
The educational system in Edo State across basic, secondary, and tertiary repositioned, revamped, and rejuvenated with adequate but strategic funding to institutions, the security architecture received a boost with the purchase and distribution of logistical equipment to security agencies in Edo State, agriculture and food security strengthened through practical initiatives anchored on research, and the laudable purchase of mechanized farming equipment... Phew! The list is endless.
In addition and in favour of some depth and clarity, the commencement of a new fiscal and governance cycle, offers the Okpebholo administration the unique opportunity to transit from the phase of intervention to that of consolidation. The year 2025 marked the implementation of targeted reforms across priority sectors, yielding early but significant outcomes and gains as enumerated above in infrastructure delivery, public service efficiency, and socio-economic stabilization.
As 2026 unfolds, it is a case of "No retreat, No relapse" as the Gov. Okpebholo-led administration’s strategic focus on institutionalizing these gains through policy continuity, strengthened regulatory frameworks, and performance-based governance mechanisms designed to ensure sustainability, scalability, and measurable impact, is impregnable.
This new phase is defined by a deliberate shift toward medium and long-term planning, anchored on prudent fiscal management, evidence-driven decision-making, and inter-sectoral coordination.
By aligning budgetary priorities with development outcomes, reinforcing monitoring and evaluation systems, and deepening stakeholder engagement, Governor Okpebholo’s government is on a progressive trajectory of positioning the state to not only preserve the progress recorded in 2025 but to translate it into resilient growth, inclusive development, and sustainable progress
Indeed, in 2026, with this pellucid unabating momentum and zest of Akpako-rescue, Edo will SHINE MORE!
