The Edo State Government has faulted interpretations of the 2026 Phillips Consulting States Performance Index (pSPI), arguing that the report substantially reflects governance conditions inherited by Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said the government welcomed independent governance assessments but cautioned against attributing historical outcomes to an administration that assumed office after most of the assessment period had elapsed.

Afegbua said Governor Okpebholo assumed office on November 12, 2024, describing the date as “the single most important consideration” in evaluating the report’s findings concerning Edo State.

According to him, most of the fiscal, administrative and governance indicators assessed by Phillips Consulting had already been shaped by policies, budgets, expenditure decisions and institutional realities predating the present administration.

He said, “The central issue raised by the Edo State Government is not whether governance should be measured. Rather, it is whether historical outcomes should automatically be attributed to a Government that did not formulate or implement the policies that produced those outcomes. Chronology is fundamental to credible governance analysis.”

The commissioner noted that the pSPI uses indicators including citizen satisfaction, internally generated revenue, revenue self-reliance, debt sustainability, fiscal management, audited financial information and governance outcomes.

He, however, stressed that several of the indicators were cumulative and developed over extended periods, making it difficult to fundamentally alter them within weeks or months of assuming office.

Afegbua said the Okpebholo administration had since its inauguration embarked on reforms aimed at changing Edo’s developmental trajectory, citing improved revenue administration, road construction and rehabilitation, the regularisation of more than 5,000 teachers and the renovation of over 80 public schools.

He also said the government had constructed, upgraded or rehabilitated more than 70 Primary Health Care Centres and recruited additional healthcare personnel, while strengthening security through the deployment of about 2,500 Security Corps personnel and 500 Forest Guards alongside conventional security agencies.

The commissioner added that the administration had also pursued urban renewal, market reconstruction, public service reforms and youth development programmes.

He maintained that future assessments would provide a more representative basis for evaluating the administration because they would increasingly capture policies conceived, funded and implemented during Okpebholo’s tenure.

“The Edo State Government welcomes independent governance assessments and recognises their value in promoting transparency, accountability and continuous improvement in public administration,” Afegbua said.

“However, such assessments must always be interpreted within the limits of their methodology, assessment period and constitutional context.”

He added that the 2026 pSPI should be viewed as “an important analytical exercise that substantially reflects historical conditions preceding the present administration” and not as a definitive assessment of a government that assumed office after most of the assessment period had elapsed.

“Ultimately, governance should be judged not merely by inherited circumstances but by the vision, leadership and measurable progress achieved in transforming them. It is to that standard that the Edo State Government remains fully committed,” he said.

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