Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has led a thanksgiving service at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Auchi Diocese, marking one year in office. The service was attended by members of the State Executive Council and top leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I want to thank the Bishop for your prayers and support. When he was speaking today, he was speaking my mind,” Okpebholo said, expressing gratitude to God for His grace and faithfulness. He recalled making a vow last year to return to the church in thanksgiving upon winning the primaries and governorship election.
The Governor highlighted his administration’s priorities, focusing on road infrastructure and security, which he identified as pressing challenges facing the state. “As I came here today, my mind was on how we will fix the bad roads. The second thought on my mind is about a matter that concerns us all — insecurity. We will continue to do our best to fight insecurity and ensure that the evil ones are driven out of our midst,” he affirmed.
Okpebholo sympathized with the Church and families affected by recent kidnappings of priests, assuring them of the government’s resolve to restore peace and order. “While I sympathize with the Church over the kidnapped priests in recent times, I want to say that there is never a day we are not concerned about the insecurity in our land. We are doing everything possible to bring it to an end.”
The Catholic Bishop of Auchi Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Gabriel G. Dunia, commended Okpebholo for his reintroduction of the state’s monthly environmental sanitation exercise, describing it as a necessary step toward public health and moral discipline. “You made a promise before God and His people that you would return to this altar to give thanks if you emerged victorious. Today, you have kept that promise. This is the mark of a man of faith and truth,” Bishop Dunia said.
