Barely 24 hours after Ms Tinyan Otuomagie was removed as Managing Director/CEO of New Edo Line Transport Services Limited, Governor Monday Okpebholo has dismissed his Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation, Hon Collins Aigbogun.
Reports indicate that while the Governor announced the immediate appointment of Mr Smart Aigbodion, the General Manager, Maintenance, as the Acting Managing Director/CEO of the transport company pending the selection of a substantive Managing Director he also appointed Christopher Udobor Iyase to succeed the sacked Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation.
The Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Umar Musa Ikhilor, confirmed the dismissal of Hon Collins Aigbogun in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, the 16th of January, 2026, in Benin City.
Ikhilor said the appointment of Hon Christopher Udobor Iyase takes immediate effect. He described the new appointee as “a dedicated youth mobilizer with a strong passion for the well-being and welfare of young people across Edo State.”
However, it was gathered that the sacked aide is currently in police custody following his alleged involvement in the violent anti-kidnapping protest on Saturday, the 10th of January, 2026, in Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
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He was reportedly arrested after the Governor ordered a probe into the violence that erupted during the protest, which resulted in the destruction of public and private properties in the local government.
Hon Collins Aigbogun was among the 18 Local Government Chairmen elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
He later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the sacking of the 18 elected chairmen and deputies by the state government and was promptly appointed as an aide by Governor Monday Okpebholo