The Edo State Government has sharply criticised the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dismissing its recent comments on the PRESCO land revocation controversy as “ridiculous” and nothing more than “comic relief.” The response came through a strongly worded statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, on Thursday.
The reaction followed the PDP’s condemnation of the government’s handling of the PRESCO Plc land revocation issue. In a statement, PDP Publicity Secretary Dan Osa-Ogbegie alleged that Governor Monday Okpebholo initially signed a notice on November 21, 2025, revoking 13,545 hectares of PRESCO land, only to issue a disclaimer six days later denying the action. According to the PDP, the conflicting moves exposed “a government that does not understand what it signs, what it announces, or what it authorises.”
The PDP described the revocation as targeting Presco Plc—Edo’s biggest agro-industrial investment, which employs thousands and has operated in the state for over 30 years. Osa-Ogbegie claimed that widespread public and investor backlash pushed the government into “panic mode,” culminating in the dismissal of the EDOGIS Managing Director.
But Afegbua dismissed the PDP’s position, accusing the opposition party of “crying more than PRESCO” and operating like a fragmented group lacking direction.
“Each time they respond to issues around the state, they tend to privatize them, as though they represent their personal estates and interests,” he said, arguing that the party had become a source of spectacle. “Comedy is desirable to laugh off some of the follies being unleashed to their scanty members.”
He insisted that the PDP had no business inserting itself into the debate, especially after the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) had already provided what he described as clear and constitutional explanations.
“The statement issued by the PDP’s phlegmatic leadership in the state is as ridiculous as the present status of the party in Edo State and Nigeria at large,” Afegbua said. “If PDP were to be the spokesman for PRESCO, one would have understood their tenor. But ranting for the sake of ranting only makes their comic characterization more appalling.”
He added that the government acted fully within its constitutional authority concerning land administration, particularly in oil mineral-bearing areas.
