The Edo State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday disagreed over the plan by the Edo State governor, Senator Monday Okpehbolo, to float a state-owned airline.
The PDP, in a press statement signed by the state publicity secretary, DAN Osa-Ogbegie, urged Okpebholo to consider projects that will be of immense benefits to Edo people, adding that floating an airline is a misplaced priority.
However, the ruling APC, in a statement by Acting State Publicity Secretary, Ofure Osehobo, said the floating of the airline is the fulfilment of the governor’s campaign promises.
The PDP statement said, “The PDP has received with deep concern reports of the Edo State Government’s intention to float a state-owned airline. This ill-conceived proposal is a textbook example of misplaced priority and yet another exposure of a government profoundly disconnected from the urgent realities confronting Edo people.
“At a time when Edo State is grappling with decaying infrastructure, worsening urban conditions, and stalled strategic projects, the idea of establishing an airline is not only unrealistic but profoundly insensitive.
“Running an airline is capital-intensive, technically demanding, and historically disastrous for most sub-national governments in Nigeria. It requires massive upfront investment, continuous subsidies, and world-class operational competence, none of which the Edo State Government presently demonstrates.”
The party maintained that the state capital, Benin City, “has regrettably become a shadow of what a state capital should be in a modern federation. Compared with other state capitals across Nigeria, Benin City today presents an unbelievably bucolic and embarrassing outlook.
“Roads within the metropolis are largely impassable, urban planning has collapsed, drainage systems are neglected, and basic municipal services are either weak or completely absent. This is a crying shame for a city of Benin’s history, heritage, and enormous potential.”
But Osehobo, in his reaction, said that Okpebholo has shown that governance is not measured by campaign promises, but in delivery of tangible projects like the planned airline.
He said, “In politics, promises are easy. Fulfilment is the hard part. That is why governance is not measured by slogans, manifestos, or applause at campaign grounds, but by the quiet, stubborn work of translating words into institutions, ideas into infrastructure, and hopes into lived realities.
“In our state, Edo, Governor Monday Okpebholo’s push for Edo Air is one such moment where campaign rhetoric is giving way to concrete action, and Edo people are beginning to see the anatomy of a promise being fulfilled.
“Long before he took the oath of office, Okpebholo had spoken plainly and boldly about aviation. At a time when many saw airports as mere terminals and airlines as luxuries, he framed aviation as a development tool, an economic engine, and a gateway to opportunity.
“During an interactive session with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Benin City, he did not hedge his words. He said Edo would float a state-owned airline if elected. No ambiguity. No evasiveness. No political poetry. Just a clear promise.”
Osehobo maintained that Okpebholo’s courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, was not a ceremonial handshake or a photo opportunity but a policy meeting and strategic engagement, adding that Edo Air is not a campaign relic, but an unfolding project of governance.
“The discussions centred on strengthening Nigeria’s aviation sector, with deliberate focus on advancing Edo’s aviation ecosystem. In political language, this is what is called “continuity between promise and performance.
“Governor Okpebholo has been consistent in his framing of aviation as a catalyst for growth. In his words, the engagement was part of “broader efforts to drive growth, improve connectivity, and unlock new opportunities for Edo State.”
That sentence alone captures the philosophical spine of Edo Air. This is not merely about owning planes; it is about owning pathways—pathways to markets, investments, tourism, jobs, and visibility,” he said.
