Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has blamed former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, while addressing protesters over the ongoing electricity crisis in the state.
The governor spoke during a demonstration against what residents described as the oppressive and monopolistic practices of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), following the announcement of a planned one-month blackout across several communities in Edo.
Speaking to the protesters, Okpebholo distanced the state government from ownership and control of BEDC.
“It’s not government property,” he said. “Even though we have a stake, including Ondo, Delta, Ekiti, and Edo, the percentage is very small. So, we do not have control over BEDC.”
He then referenced Fidelity Bank, suggesting it holds a larger stake in the power company.
“Fidelity Bank has a larger share. I don’t want to ask who owns Fidelity Bank or who the owners of the bank are; I leave that to you to answer. Tomorrow, they will tell you I don’t have anything,” he added.
Okpebholo, however, did not provide specific evidence linking Peter Obi to ownership of the bank.
The governor argued that the solution to the power crisis lies in breaking what he described as a monopoly in the electricity distribution sector.
“I want to let you know that the only way we can fight them is to bring stakeholders into this business of distribution,” he said.
“We’ll break the monopoly. That monopoly does not belong to one man. We must operate like the telecom industry, bringing together different stakeholders and companies.”
He announced plans to convene a meeting with investors and stakeholders to explore opening up the sector.
“We are going to have a meeting in my office tomorrow. We are bringing stakeholders together so that we can talk, engage them, and see how we can bring in more investors into the business of light distribution. So when that is done, all of us in the state will have enough light.”
BEDC Announces One-Month Outage
The protest followed an announcement by the BEDC on February 26, stating that several parts of Edo State would experience a planned blackout from February 27 to March 31, 2026.
According to BEDC, the outage is due to scheduled maintenance by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on the 330kV Benin/Ajaokuta Line 2 at the Ihovbor Transmission Station.
Feeders affected include the Egba, Oluku, UNIBEN, and Ihovbor 33kV lines. Communities expected to experience disruptions include UNIBEN and surrounding areas, Ugbowo, Oluku, Upper Sakponba, Ihovbor, Egba, and neighbouring locations.
While apologising for the inconvenience, the company said the maintenance aims to strengthen transmission capacity and improve overall service reliability.
The outage comes amid persistent challenges in Nigeria’s power sector, including gas supply shortages and seasonal constraints affecting electricity generation.
Obi Previously Denied Owning Fidelity Bank
In May 2025, Peter Obi publicly denied claims that he owns the bank.
“The self-proclaimed blackmailer-in-chief and others who thrive on spreading pain and falsehoods have also claimed that I own Fidelity Bank. For the record, I do not,” Obi wrote in a statement at the time.
“Throughout my career, I have served as Chairman/Director of three banks/financial institutions, of which Fidelity is one of them. Fidelity has over 500,000 shareholders, none of whom hold a majority stake.”
He added, “To those peddling these falsehoods and engaging in blackmail, I offer a simple prayer: May God grant you the virtues of gratitude and understanding to know that we came here with nothing and will go with nothing.”
As of the time of reporting, there has been no fresh response from Obi regarding the governor’s recent remarks.
What immediate steps should be taken to ease the burden on households and businesses, and why do you think states government have not been able to generate their electricity since the signing into law of the Electricity Act 2023?
