The Chairman of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Blessing Albert Ebhodaghe, has directed commercial drivers operating from motor parks in the council to wear caps and other political materials associated with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), threatening consequences for those who defy the directive.
Ebhodaghe issued the directive during a visit to Onitsha Park in Ekpoma, where he described his message to the drivers as a “standing warning”.
The council chairman linked the directive to Governor Monday Okpebholo’s political mobilisation drive ahead of the 2027 presidential election, particularly the governor’s stated target of delivering 2.5 million votes from Edo State to President Bola Tinubu.
“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 added.
Ebhodaghe said he had been moving around the town to mobilise support for the governor and the President, arguing that the administration’s road projects had improved the working conditions of commercial drivers.
“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. You can do what you need to do for the day.”
The chairman subsequently issued the controversial directive, warning drivers against wearing caps or other political materials belonging to parties other than the APC.
“I wrote on no account to not see any driver put on his cap or any material that does not belong to the party,” Ebhodaghe said.
“Any park I see anybody putting on another cap… there will be no friend to this vehicle,” he warned.
He said he would personally monitor compliance, using his mobile phone to document any driver found violating the directive and report such cases to the leadership of the motor park.
“I will come here with a mobile phone,” he said, adding that he would contact the park chairman over any defaulter.
“I’m here to handle all the things. To give order. Give this warning to the Chairman and to the company,” Ebhodaghe added.
The development has triggered criticism from civic group MonITNG, which called on Ebhodaghe and Governor Okpebholo to clarify whether the specific directive was authorised by the state government.
The group argued that motor parks are public spaces and workplaces where citizens earn their livelihoods and should not be used to compel political allegiance.
The controversy comes less than two weeks after Governor Okpebholo inaugurated the newly elected chairmen and vice chairmen of Edo’s 18 local government areas and urged them to strengthen grassroots political structures and mobilise support for Tinubu and the APC’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Okpebholo has repeatedly stated the 2.5 million-vote target for Tinubu. In May, he said Edo was poised to deliver the votes, while in June he linked the target to projects being executed by his administration.
The Edo APC also reiterated the 2.5 million-vote target following its reported victory in the July 2026 local government election.
However, it remains unclear whether the governor or the Edo State Government authorised Ebhodaghe’s specific instruction on what political materials commercial drivers should wear at motor parks.
MonITNG has consequently called for public clarification from both the governor and the Esan West council chairman, urging public officials to distinguish between political mobilisation and the administration of public facilities.
