Rita Odafe
Jarrett Tenebe
Jarrett Tenebe, the APC Chairman in Edo State, has come out in defense of Governor Monday Okpebholo after the latter faced criticism for making errors in his budget speech during the 2025 Appropriation Bill presentation to the State House of Assembly.
A video showing the governor struggling to articulate the total budget amount became a trending topic on social media, depicting his flustered attempts, such as, “The Edo State 2025 Appropriation Bill of 6 billion… 650… 605 billion… 76 thou… 76 million…”
He added, “Let me take it again. 506 billion… 605 billion… sorry… 776 billion… sorry, it’s confusing me.”
In response to the uproar, Tenebe dismissed the criticism as baseless, referring to the governor’s mistakes as normal human errors. He expressed this in a video shared by Edo Updates on X.com, stating, “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.”
Furthermore, Tenebe praised Okpebholo’s integrity, suggesting that his struggles with budgeting demonstrate his honest nature, unlike previous leaders. He remarked, “That is how to know original and innocent people. Monday is not a thief, so he’s not familiar with figures.”
Tenebe urged critics to focus more on the governor’s overall performance instead of trivializing his verbal slip. He emphatically stated, “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.”
During the session, Okpebholo proposed a budget of N605 billion, highlighting a 25% increase from the 2024 fiscal plan. The budget is themed “Budget of Renewed Hope for a Rising Edo.”
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