Edo State Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo has approved the appointment of 4,800 Special Assistants (SAs), allocating 25 slots to each of the state's 192 wards, as a recognition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members' collective effort in securing the party's electoral victory.
Announcement at Government House Meeting
Okpebholo announced the approval on Monday, August 10, 2026, during a meeting with APC members from the state's 18 local government areas at the Government House in Benin City. The governor presented the appointments as part of his administration's plan to take governance to the grassroots and as a reward for party loyalty.
Addressing the gathering, Okpebholo reaffirmed his commitment to the APC, stating, “I want to say good morning to everybody and tell you that I love you all. I want to let you know that the party is our party. We don’t have any other party than APC.”
Linking Appointments to Victory
The governor directly tied the 4,800 appointments to the work done by party members during the election campaign. “Appointing 4,800 SAs is not an issue at all because we all worked for this victory. The victory does not belong to Okpebholo alone,” he said.
He also emphasized that the appointments aim to ensure government programmes, opportunities, and development reach communities beyond the state capital. “So, we are taking governance to the grassroots so that whatever is from the top will also go down to the bottom,” Okpebholo added.
Distribution and Selection Process
Edo APC Chairman Jarret Tenebe explained that 25 Special Assistants will be selected from each of the 192 wards, producing the total of 4,800 appointments. He said the meeting was convened partly to outline the criteria and guidelines for selecting beneficiaries.
“In his magnanimity, the governor has decided to appoint 25 SAs in each of the wards in 192 wards across the state,” Tenebe said. He added that the APC State Working Committee has constituted a committee to work with the wards, ensure compliance with the selection guidelines, and compile the names of qualified nominees before forwarding them to the party headquarters in Benin City.
Political Context and Impact
The announcement was made in the presence of APC ward chairmen, members of the party's State Working Committee, Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, and other party representatives from across the state.
Tenebe praised Okpebholo's administration for efforts to reposition and strengthen the APC in Edo, noting that the party has become more active and stable under the governor. He also disclosed that the state government had supported APC candidates in the local government elections, including councillors and council chairmen, as part of efforts to strengthen the party's grassroots structure.
Okpebholo won the September 21, 2024, Edo governorship election on the APC platform with 291,667 votes, defeating Peoples Democratic Party candidate Asue Ighodalo, who polled 247,274 votes, while Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata received 22,763 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Okpebholo the winner on September 22, 2024.
The scale of the announcement is significant: if the stated allocation is followed, every ward in Edo State will have 25 people designated as Special Assistants, creating a large grassroots political and administrative network across the state. The selection process is currently at the stage of compiling nominees, with the aim of extending government programmes and opportunities to communities.
