Public affairs analyst Mahdi Shehu has launched a scathing attack on Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, labeling him a "budget-ignorant governor" and "cowardly miscreant" incapable of reading budget figures, in response to the governor's controversial claim that Northern states receive disproportionate federal allocations. Shehu's tirade, aired on December 7, 2025, via a viral social media statement, dismissed Okpebholo's Northern comment as "divisive drivel from a leader who stumbles over his own numbers," referencing the governor's widely mocked gaffe during the December 2024 presentation of Edo's N605 billion 2025 "Budget of Renewed Hope" to the State House of Assembly. Videos captured Okpebholo fumbling figures stuttering "6 650 605 billion" prompting APC chairman Jarret Tenebe to defend it as a minor slip amid a three-fold budget increase from Obaseki's era, though critics like Shehu seized it to question competence.
Shehu accused Okpebholo of hypocrisy, arguing the governor's Northern allocation lament ignores Edo's infrastructure gains under federal support while prioritizing personal attacks over governance, calling him "unable to read figures yet quick to stoke ethnic fires". The clash reignites debates from Okpebholo's November 2024 school inspections where he decried dilapidated facilities and budget focus on recurrent spending (35%, N223 billion), capital projects (65%), and Ambrose Alli University subvention hike from N40 million to N500 million. Supporters like Edo Renewed Hope Group's Raphael Okoh countered that the "slip does not diminish capability," accusing detractors of exaggeration akin to mocking President Tinubu's National Assembly numbering error.
Okpebholo's remark framed as advocacy for Southern equity dovetails with APC defenses amid PDP criticisms of fiscal federalism, but Shehu warned it risks polarizing Nigeria further, urging focus on delivery over "budget illiteracy". Edo APC insists the N605 billion blueprint 25% up from 2024 signals transformation, with ongoing road and studio renovations. The exchange highlights deepening partisan rifts as Okpebholo's administration faces scrutiny ahead of implementation.