Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of intimidation and harassment, saying the governor should have discussed his choice of a successor with him instead of resorting to intimidation tactics.
Shaibu, who made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, said despite his not-so-smooth association with his principal, it is his constitutional right to contest the number one office in the state.
“He (Obaseki) said I am the type of deputy governor any governor will wish to have. So, what has changed? What has changed simply is that I want to be the governor of Edo State,” Shaibu said.
“Possibly, maybe he (Obaseki) wants somebody else. In a situation like that, what you do is not intimidation, it is not harassment; you call a family together, you call all of us (aspirants) together and give us reasons why you feel certain things should be. Tell us what you want. You don’t intimidate, you don’t harass.”
Shaibu lamented that it was unfortunate that some supporters of the governors were not able to separate between loyalty and constitutional rights.
“It’s my cross I am carrying and that is why I have refused. I don’t need to fight. I am loyal to the governor; it’s not disputed but my right to contest is mine. Loyalty is given and it is fully given even with the humiliations and everything I am still loyal but when it comes to contest, it is my constitutional right,” he said.
Shaibu, who has been Obaseki’s deputy since 2016, said despite the sour relationship between himself and his principal, he is still loyal to the governor.
“I have no problem but I beg the governor, the governor should know he is the leader, he must be able to organise all of us, he must not love one more than the other. If he must do so, he must humiliate one,” Shaibu said, adding that he has been “praying that this whole relationship thing comes to normal”.
