Less than 24 hours after the removal of Ms. Tinyan Otuomagie as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of New Edo Line Transport Services Limited, Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has dismissed his Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation, Hon. Collins Aigbogun.
The governor announced the appointment of Mr. Smart Aigbodion, the company’s General Manager of Maintenance, as Acting Managing Director/CEO of New Edo Line, pending the appointment of a substantive head. He also approved the appointment of Hon. Christopher Udobor Iyase as the new Special Adviser on Youth Mobilisation.
The Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Umar Musa Ikhilor, disclosed the development in a statement issued to journalists on Friday in Benin City. According to Ikhilor, Iyase’s appointment takes immediate effect.
He described the new adviser as a committed youth mobiliser with a strong passion for the welfare and well-being of young people across Edo State.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST gathered that Hon. Aigbogun is currently in police custody over his alleged involvement in a violent anti-kidnapping protest held on Saturday, January 10, 2026, in Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
He was reportedly arrested following a directive by the governor to investigate the violence that erupted during the protest, which resulted in the destruction of public and private properties in the area.
Aigbogun was previously one of the 18 local government chairmen elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki. He later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the state government dissolved the elected chairmen and their deputies, and was subsequently appointed as a special adviser by Governor Okpebholo.
