Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo’s recent ‘Asiwaju’ directive feels like a comedy taken too far, especially at a time when citizens are yearning for responsive governance that truly addresses their well-being.
Development Diaries reports that in a viral video, the governor was seen directing all newly sworn-in commissioners and special advisors to wear the ‘Asiwaju’ cap to cabinet meetings.
TRENDING VIDEO: If you’re coming to exco meeting without wearing Asiwaju cap, you’re going back, Edo governor tells new commissioners pic.twitter.com/rPVMssj1Ra
— TheCable (@thecableng) October 15, 2025
While some governors are unveiling policies on infrastructure, education, and healthcare, Edo State now seems to be leading in the styling department. One can almost imagine the next executive meeting resembling a uniform parade rather than a policy discussion.
The governor says the cap is a tribute to President Bola Tinubu’s support during the election, but does governance now require wardrobe coordination to prove loyalty?
Meanwhile, outside the gleaming halls of the Government House, ordinary Edo people are battling issues that no cap can cover.
Deteriorating roads in Benin City, irregular electricity supply, youth unemployment, poor waste management and so on.
Citizens would much prefer a governor obsessed with solving everyday problems, not dressing his team for a political costume party.
Political loyalty is nothing new in Nigeria, but when it begins to creep into the dress code of governance, it sends the wrong signal.
Commissioners should be judged by the work they do, not by what sits on their heads. A government fixated on appearance risks losing sight of substance, and no number of matching caps can mask that.
It’s almost poetic: while the people are asking for caps on inflation, the government is capping heads instead.
Governor Okpebholo would do well to remember that Edo’s progress will not be measured by the size or shine of the Asiwaju cap, but by the impact of his administration on education, healthcare, job creation, and infrastructure.
So rather than sending commissioners back for forgetting a hat, perhaps he could send them out into the communities that need real solutions.
Photo source: Governor Monday Okpebholo
