The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State, Jarrett Tenebe, has defended Governor Monday Okpebholo after the governor faced public backlash for stumbling over budget figures during the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
A video of the governor’s budget presentation which shows his repeated attempts to correctly state the budget’s total amount went viral on social media.
In the video, Okpebholo appeared flustered, saying, “The Edo State 2025 Appropriation Bill of 6 billion… 650… 605 billion… 76 thou… 76 million…
“Let me take it again. 506 billion… 605 billion… sorry… 776 billion… sorry, it’s confusing me.”
Reacting to the controversy, Tenebe dismissed the criticism as unfounded, arguing that the governor’s slip-up was a natural human error.
“Social media has been agog with our governor’s budget presentation about a mistake on 650 billion and the rest of it all. It’s a normal thing. Humans make such mistakes, and a lot of people make such mistakes,” he said in a video message shared by Edo Updates on X.com on Wednesday.
Tenebe further claimed that the incident reflected Okpebholo’s integrity, contrasting him with past leaders in the state.
He said, “That is how to know original and innocent people. Monday is not a thief, so he’s not familiar with figures.”
The APC chairman dismissed the backlash, insisting that critics focus on the governor’s performance rather than his error during the presentation.
“He’s the governor of the state, he’s performing, and he will continue to perform. And anybody who does not like his face should go to hell and burn to ashes, period, and thank you,” Tenebe concluded.
The governor on Tuesday presented the proposed budget estimated at N605 billion, which reflected a 25 per cent increase from the 2024 budget.
The Appropriation Bill is titled “Budget of Renewed Hope for a Rising Edo.”
