…in a government that operates by night, who will be the next to vanish before dawn?
By Chris’s Osa Nehikhar
The overnight sack of the Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua is yet another confirmation that the Okpebholo administration functions like a nocturnal council—issuing sacks, redeployments and curious appointments only when decent societies are asleep. In Edo today, governance has been reduced to after-midnight memos.
Itua will not be remembered for strategic communication or responsible public engagement. Far from it. His tenure was defined by a relentless barrage of insults and abuses hurled at anyone who dared express an alternative view. Like a restless guard dog barking at everything within sight—flies included—he mistook noise for effectiveness. What Edo needed was a communicator; what it got instead was a liability.
As a brand manager for government, he was grossly inefficient. As a propagandist, he lacked the discipline required to shape narrative, build credibility, or persuade. His communication style was toxic, unnecessarily combative, and often counterproductive to the very administration he was meant to defend.
The sack letter—issued with the trademark midnight stamp—hinted at a possible redeployment. If that rumour points toward the Observer newspaper, the government should tread carefully. The Observer remains one of Nigeria’s oldest and most respected newspapers. It does not lack credibility. It is precisely for that reason that deploying someone with Itua’s antecedents would be ill-advised. His combative and toxic approach would only endanger the reputation the institution has spent decades building.
The truth is simple: Fred Itua is not ready to head any organisation. He is better suited to roles where he is supervised, guided, and restrained. Leadership demands maturity, emotional intelligence, and a capacity to elevate conversations—not drag them further into the mud.
In the end, Itua’s tenure will be remembered not for what he built, but for the turbulence he amplified. And as with previous midnight casualties, one is left wondering: in a government that operates by night, who will be the next to vanish before dawn?
