Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has ordered the freezing of all state-owned bank accounts. According to a statement released on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, this directive will remain in effect until further notice.

The governor instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply immediately, warning of severe consequences for non-compliance.

The statement emphasized: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice. Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.”

The governor assured that appropriate actions would follow once investigations and reconciliations were completed, but for now, the directive stands.

Additionally, Okpebholo instructed the renaming of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges back to the Ministry of Works, reversing a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration. He criticized the previous administration for the name, stating, “It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.” He added that further reviews of the previous administration’s actions would be conducted to make decisions in the state’s best interest.