The chairman of Esan West Local Government Area in Edo State has directed commercial drivers at motor parks to wear only caps and materials linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu, warning that non-compliance would bar them from accessing the parks.
Blessing Albert Ebhodaghe, the newly elected chairman, issued the directive in a video recorded at the Onitsha Park and circulating on social media. He described the order as a “standing warning” intended to support Governor Monday Okpebholo’s commitment to deliver 2.5 million votes for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
“The Governor of Edo State, he promised the President Bola Tinubu 2.5 million in the 2027 general election that the whole world is going to see,” Ebhodaghe said. “By the grace of God, we are totally behind him. We are going to deliver him, come 2027.”
He told drivers that improved roads under the current administration justified the political demand. “Because if the road is not good, the driver cannot go. Am I correct? If the road is not good, you cannot apply anything. You cannot even find your daily bread,” he said. “So, because the road is good today, you can go to Onitsha and come back.”
Ebhodaghe stated he had already circulated the instruction across the town and would personally enforce it. “I wrote on no account to not see any driver put on his cap or any material that does not belong to the party,” he said. “Any park I see anybody putting on another cap… there will be no friend to this vehicle.” He added that he would monitor parks with his phone and contact park leadership if drivers wore materials associated with other parties. “I’m here to handle all the things. To give order. Give this warning to the Chairman and to the company. Let nobody put on the cap.”
The remarks have drawn criticism from the civic group MonITNG, which called on both Ebhodaghe and Governor Okpebholo to clarify whether the directive was authorised by the state government. The group argued that motor parks are public spaces where citizens earn their livelihoods and should not be used to compel political allegiance. It urged public office holders to distinguish between party mobilisation and the administration of public facilities.
The controversy follows Okpebholo’s inauguration of the newly elected chairmen and vice chairmen of Edo’s 18 local government areas on September 4. At the ceremony, the governor urged the officials to strengthen grassroots political structures and mobilise support for Tinubu and the APC’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He has repeatedly referenced the 2.5 million-vote target, stating in May that Edo was capable of delivering it and linking the goal in June to ongoing projects. After the APC’s sweep of all 18 chairmanship seats and 192 councillorship positions in the July 2026 local government election, the party restated the same target.
It remains unclear from available material whether the governor or the state government authorised Ebhodaghe’s specific order on what drivers may wear at motor parks.
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