Governor Okpebholo returns thousands of plots to Edo owners

Three years after the bulldozers hit, Edo just handed thousands of plots back, and the people who lost everything are finally breathing again.

What just flipped at Oke-Oroma

• The Edo State Government returned 2,950 plots of land to 1,550 people in Oke-Oroma Community, inside Oredo Local Government Area.
• These were the same properties wiped out under the administration of Godwin Obaseki.

Why did this reversal happened

• Monday Okpebholo greenlit the move, tying it directly to a campaign pledge made to the affected residents.
• The demolitions originally went down on September 21, 2022, and the anger never really cooled.

How the land is being handed back

• Yakubu Musa laid it out in Benin City on Friday, January 23, 2026.
• Verified owners got official reallocation letters after submitting documents to prove their claims.

What the verification looked like

• The Ministry of Land and Housing ran a one-week authentication exercise.
• The goal was to separate actual owners from noise, before anything changed hands.

What is happening on the ground

• Surveyors are already out there marking plot boundaries.
• Bulldozers are clearing the land, flipping the script from destruction to restoration.
• The state says physical handover to owners is expected within days.

How officials are framing it

• Musa said the move is meant to restore hope to everyone who lost land at Oke-Oroma.
• He also pitched it as proof that Okpebholo followed through on his word to the community.

How residents are reacting

• Beneficiaries like Adebayo Benjamin Ogenelkhemeh, Onose Onyegbulem, and Efe Kennedy Ewemade publicly praised the governor.
• Their mood was simple relief mixed with disbelief that the land is actually coming back.

What does this signal politically

• For Oke-Oroma residents, this is closure after years of waiting.
• For the Edo government, it is a loud statement that campaign promises can still come with receipts.