Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, alleged that his deputy, Philip Shaibu, is desperate to become the next governor of the state and would explore every possible means to achieve his ambition including ousting him.

Obaseki said this during a meeting with elders and leaders from Etsako West, East and Central Local Councils of the state in Jattu, Etsako West Local Council, as part of the campaigns for the September 2, 2023, council election.

The governor said: “My deputy governor has become so desperate to take over and he is ready to do anything including carrying out a coup to ensure he kicks me out to become the Governor of Edo State.”

Obaseki, who expressed shock and disappointment over the recent actions of his deputy, added: “What struck me was his action after the proclamation of the Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA) and election of its officers. He went to Abuja and came back that day. I am the Chief Security Officer of the state, I get any information I need, but keep quiet and use the information quietly.

“My deputy called a leader in the All Progressives Congress (APC) telling him that during the election of speaker of the assembly the next day, that he had five loyal members and that he would like the seven members of the APC in the house to work with him to produce the speaker.”

I called the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members to my house to familiarise myself with them following this information.

“Shaibu tried to barge in. I said you can’t come into my house. It’s my private house, not even the Government House. You have to have courtesy, but now it is my prerogative to allow you in or out.

“After hearing what he did, I didn’t allow him to come in. The next day, we went to the House and he came and we elected our speaker. What he did is not working in the interest of the party. How can he have a different candidate aside from what the governor wants?”

Obaseki further narrated the sacrifice he made to ensure Shaibu retained his position as deputy governor after they moved from the APC amid the crisis in the run-up to the 2020 governorship poll.

The governor, who frowned on how his deputy has mismanaged the politics in Edo North, said Shaibu’s style of handling political issues in the area has caused the party not to elect any member from the area into the House of Assembly.

A leader of the party in Etsako, Chief Ogedegbe Bitrus, said the leaders and elders of Etsako called the meeting to appreciate him for his developmental strides across the state, noting that they were not in support of the deputy governor’s actions
.