Many Political analysts predicted that they would fall apart particularly when it became obvious that the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu would contest for the governorship election of the state by 2024 but none of the analysts predicted that it would come so soon. About one year and four months to the end of their tenure.
The crisis between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy came to fore this weekend because from the affidavit of urgency Shaibu deposed to at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court where he is seeking that the court protects him from being impeached, there have been a frosty relationship between him and his boss.
Shaibu has been consulting within the state, country and in the Diaspora about his ambition to succeed his boss by 2024 when their tenure would have elapsed.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State (left) and his Deputy, Philip Shaibu.
It was gathered that the ambition of Shaibu did not get the blessing of his principal even though he told him he was still consulting but the governor it was gathered was aware that his deputy had made up his mind to contest.
From the governor’s end, his supporters claimed that he has concluded that the governorship would be zoned out of Edo North Senatorial District based on the argument that his estranged predecessor who is now a senator, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Shaibu are both from that area and he seemed to be favouring Edo Central Senatorial District. They also argued that it by any chance it goes to Edo North, it should be Etsako West where the two of them come from arguing that there Etsako East, Etsako Central, Owan West, Owan East and Akoko-Edo as the other local government areas that make up Edo North Senatorial District.
As a loyal deputy who had enjoyed so much support from him that at a point Shaibu was seen as the most influential deputy governor in the country and this also has earned him several awards especially in the area of sports which the governor had given him freely to handle, it was gathered that the governor was miffed at his ambition.
It was gathered that the governor has also expressed his misgivings on his grip of the politics in Edo North as Sunday Vanguard gathered that he has been solely in charge of all appointments from Edo North yet, he has not been able to deliver in elections which it was gathered led the governor to insisting that he should be meeting with stakeholders of the party in the area including people like Chief Dan Orbih, Pascal Ugbome, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe and others who are all from the area.
However, multiple sources in Edo government house on Saturday told Vanguard that Shaibu approached the courts on his purported impeachment to raise false alarm because he knew that his actions and utterances have been antithetical to what the administration of Obaseki stands for.
It is believed that he wants to keep his position as the Deputy Governor despite his alleged moves.
A source who did not want his name mentioned and which position was corroborated by some politicians alleged that Shaibu boasted recently that he would adopt the style of the former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike even as it was alleged that he was already in talks with the All Progressives Congress (APC) at national level to decamp allegedly using members of PDP from the state who have decamped to APC.
The source said “Remember the rally that was organized at Garrick Memorial College shortly after the former National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorcha Ayu was elected where he said publicly that he only escorted the governor to the party so from day one, he never favoured His Excellency’s move to PDP because he feels he can’t fulfill his ambition in PDP.”
The source said despite this, “Impeaching him has never been contemplated, so it is a strategy by him to prevent it and keep his office while fighting to succeed His Excellency.
“He started his surreptitious move immediately after the 2023 presidential election by forming a campaign group in all the wards across the state.”
He said “Oshiomhole who handed over to Obaseki is from Etsako West same Shaibu how does he think it would be proper politically for him to succeed Obaseki? What then happens to the other local government areas in the North and then the Central too which have never tasted power?” he asked.
A high ranking politician in the PDP also said that the governor had told Shaibu that it was too early to bring up politics of 2024 so that governance would not suffer and that he should wait for the appropriate time but “His move is to force Obaseki into the trenches” as he insists that there were no plans to impeach him but that the governor was not prepared to join him on the issues he was raising. “Impeaching him has never been contemplated, so it is a strategy by him to prevent it and keep his office while fighting to succeed His Excellency.
“He started his surreptitious move immediately after the 2023 presidential election by forming a campaign group in all the wards across the state.
“The governor has told him that it is not time for politics so that governance does not suffer. He maintains that at the appropriate time, attention will be given to politics but he is not ready for that and wants governance to be abandoned for politics.”
Shaibu’s aides come to his defence
A close political associate to Shaibu told Sunday Vanguard that it is the right of Shaibu to aspire to any political office he desires and there is nothing wrong but expressed shock that thoughts of impeaching him could be contemplated.
He said “Whatever the situation is, Comrade Shaibu has the right to contest, he said he is still consulting and that the response he gets from his consultation would determine his next line of action.
“We expected that some of these things will happen along the line but I didn’t expect it so soon, the governor still has over a year and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not released the timetable for the Edo election and this is already happening.
“I can confidently tell you that those allegations against Shaibu are false. To tell you how loyal he is to the governor, after the misgivings that greeted his appearance in Abuja during the inauguration of the National Assembly, he insisted that there should be a slowing down in consultations even though his visit was misconstrued. It was members of the National Assembly from Edo State that insisted that he must visit them where they were having their reception and apart from the greetings that he had, he left immediately after that but we were all shocked at the reaction it generated.
“He was invited as a former member of the House of Representatives to be present in the inauguration of the National Assembly or would he have declined such an invitation? It is right, the governor should give free hand to attempt, he is prepared and the best qualified to succeed his boss.. he will not learn new things, he will continue those that need to be continued, strengthened those that need to be, he already understands the trajectory the governor is taking Edo to, he has mass support, the issue of planning to decamp is not true” he said.
Lawmakers deny the plot Some of the members of the state house of assembly told Sunday Vanguard that there is no such plan to impeach the deputy governor.
The Majority Leader of the House, Hon Charity Aiguobarueghian representing Ovia North East I denied the alleged plot.
He said “there is no plot like that, if there is any, I should know, the Speaker should know, the only meeting we have had on this matter the fact that we are a party in the suit and we had to meet to discuss it when we were served and we even felt embarrassed with contents which were mostly speculative” he said.
Shaibu has approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court whose hearing has been fixed for August 10 to stop a purported plan to impeach him and also stop security agencies and agents of the governor from harassing him.
In the suit documents sighted in Benin and marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1027/2023 between Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu who is the Plaintiff/Applicant and The Inspector General of Police, State Security Service, The Governor of Edo State, The Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly and The Chief Judge of Edo State who are Defendants/Respondents, Shaibu wants the court through an interlocutory injunction to restrain the governor who is the third defendant/respondent “or his agents or persons acting for and on his behalf from harassing, intimidating, embarrassing and preventing the Plaintiff/Applicant in carrying out the functions of his office as Deputy Governor of Edo State including attending State Executive Council Meetings/Functions and other duties pertaining to his office pending the hearing and determination of the substantive and to also restrain the governor from using the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the House State House of Assembly “whether by themselves or their agents or persons acting for and on their behalf from initiating impeachment proceedings against the plaintiff with a view to removing him from office as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.”
In an “Affidavit of Urgency” attached to the court documents, Shaibu said he was aware that the facts of the suit are about the governor preventing him from functioning as the deputy governor of the state using the police, SSS and the speaker and the house of assembly to impeach him.
VANGUARD
