Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has told his embattled deputy, Philip Shaibu, to forget about his governorship ambition as a condition for him (Obaseki) to accept his public apology.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Philip Shaibu begged his principal to forgive him for all his “wrongdoings.”
Shaibu, who has been locked in a war of attrition with the governor over his ambition to succeed him as the next governor Edo State, had made the plea in an interview with journalists last week.
Reacting to Shaibu’s plea, Governor Obaseki said his deputy must drop his governorship ambition before the rift between them can be resolved amicably, according to several sources who informed PM News Nigeria.
Obaseki, who returned from his yearly holiday overseas over the weekend, stated that he would have no business with Shaibu until he demonstrated perfect commitment to him by publicly renouncing his governorship ambition.
The governor reportedly summoned all Edo executive members to Lagos for a two-day session dubbed “Exco retreat with Mr Governor.”
The deputy governor was neither alerted nor invited to the meeting, which took place last Saturday and Sunday.
According to the sources, the State Executive Council meeting for this week was held in Lagos till Monday, the 25th.
With the exception of the Deputy Governor, all Exco members were invited to the meeting.
According to reports, Obaseki has threatened to withdraw Shaibu’s security vote and bar him from all government activities, including Exco meetings, if he participated in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries.
To prevent public criticism, the governor was alleged to have instructed his handlers to schedule an Excos lecture a day before the meeting to allow third parties to participate, so that the meeting would not be regarded as a formal but emergency Exco meeting.
Also invited to the meeting was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Alaghodaro, Asue Ighodalo, who is the governor’s anointed candidate for the next year’s governorship election.
“It is expected that the governor will unveil and introduce his successor to all Exco members in Lagos this week,” PMNews quoted a source who attended the seminar.
Efforts to get official confirmation on the Excos meeting held in Lagos failed, as no aide of the governor was willing to comment.
Meanwhile, the governor had also held similar meeting with the 24 members of the State House of Assembly a fortnight ago in far-away Rwanda.
SAHARA REPORTERS
