Edo State Government Rejects 2026 pSPI Ranking

The Edo State government has contested the ranking of the state in the 2026 Phillips Consulting States Performance Index (pSPI), asserting that the evaluation reflects conditions inherited from the previous administration rather than the governance of current Governor Monday Okpebholo. The government emphasized that Okpebholo assumed office on November 12, 2024, and that many of the assessed indicators measure cumulative outcomes from before his tenure.

The pSPI identified Edo as having the weakest momentum, leading to calls for policy reviews and improvements in critical sectors. In a statement from the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, the government acknowledged the value of independent assessments for promoting accountability but cautioned against attributing historical governance outcomes to a new administration that did not create or implement the policies responsible for those outcomes.