The Publicity Secretary of the Edo State People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dan Osa Ogbegie, has recoiled and regretted his last week press statement against the professorship of the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Roland Otaru, PhD, SAN, saying, “I hold him in very high personal and professional regard.”
Ogbegie said when Prof. Roland Otaru PhD, SAN, was appointed, he was on national television to commend the state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo “for appointing a beacon of light in the legal profession to that critical office.” He said emphasized that his position has not changed.
Ogbegie, who was responding to an article chastising him yesterday by an APC chieftain, Mr. John Mayaki, denied authorship and originator of the petition against the Attorney-General adding that the appointment of Professor Roland Otaru PhD, SAN, was a “pristine choice.”
In a press statement released on the 15 December, 2025, titled: “SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: A RESPONSE TO JOHN MAYAKI’S MISCHIEF, MISREPRESENTATION AND DESPERATE IMPRESSIONS”, the PDP spokesman recounted saying, “the allegation against the Attorney-General of Edo State did not emanate from me. I did not author the petition. I did not assert its truth and did not pronounce anyone guilty.”
Continuing, Ogbegie said, “It is important to state this clearly: I hold the learned Attorney-General, Mr. Roland Otaru, SAN, in very high personal and professional regard. Sometime before this controversy, I publicly described his appointment as Attorney-General as a pristine choice. I was on national television commending the Governor of Edo State for appointing a beacon of light in the legal profession to that critical office. That position has not changed,” he said in parts.
Yesterday, Mr. John Mayaki authored a piece lecturing Ogbegie on the role of the opposition in a democracy, how to verify information before consuming them and calling on the Edo State Chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to investigate Ogbegie’s outburst for possible disciplinary actions and reprimand.
It would be recalled that Prof. Roland Otaru obtained his LL.B (Hons) University of Benin; LL.M (Ife); Masters in Industrial Relations, University of Ilorin; Ph. D, Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State.
He also had stints at the University of South Africa, Harvard University, Oxford University and University of Cambridge among others.
On the 13th of December 2024, he was appointed a Professor of Practice in the Faculty of Law by the Senate of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The letter was signed by the registrar, Mufutau A. Ibrahim.
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