The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has stated reasons why he refused to support his former deputy, Philip Shaibu, to succeed him as governor. He maintained that it was aimed at protecting the people of the State.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Obaseki said he could not take the risk of backing Shaibu to become the next governor. He insisted that the political permutations in the State were against Shaibu.
The Governor, however, used the forum to address the fallout between him and his former Deputy.
Recall that the Governor and his Deputy had fallen out in the build-up to the Peoples Democratic Party primary election.
The fallout resulted in Shaibu conducting a parallel PDP primary election, which declared him as a candidate. But the party’s National Working Committee, NWC rejected his candidacy. Subsequently, as a result of the face-off with his principal, the Edo State House of Assembly impeached him.
But speaking on the matter, Obaseki said, “For me, I did not understand where the ambition was coming from. Because it was clear that the odds were not in his favor in terms of him succeeding me. And I made it very clear to him.”
“So, I could not take any risk on his ambition because I have to protect the Edo people. So, I could not take that risk on Edo people.”
Recall that Shaibu, had in response to his impeachment, described the development as an attack on the country’s democracy.
In a social media video post, Shaibu was seen to have said, “This is not just an attack on me as an individual but on the democracy that we hold dear.”
“It is a dangerous descent into dictatorship and a threat to the foundation of our democracy. Let it be clear that this impeachment was hatched because of my ambition to contest the Edo State 2024 governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. An ambition that is a legal right to all citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Recall that Shaibu had gone to court to challenge both his impeachment and the PDP primary election.
