‘Irresponsible And False’ – Edo Govt Fires Shaibu Over Allegations Against Obaseki

The Edo State Government has refuted the allegations against Governor Godwin Obaseki by his Deputy, Philip Shaibu.

Naija News reports that Shaibu had on Wednesday claimed that the Edo governor was using taxpayer funds to support his preferred candidate in the upcoming 2024 gubernatorial election.

The deputy governor also accused Obaseki of bringing back godfatherism into the state in his support for a preferred candidate, adding that the governor betrayed him.

Reacting to the allegations in an interview with Arise News on Thursday, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation in Edo State, Chris Nehikhare, refuted the claims made by Shaibu.

The commissioner stated that the allegations made by Shaibu against Governor Obaseki were irresponsible and blatantly false.

He said, “When people are campaigning when they are trying to get acceptance from the people, from the party they belong to, they allude to all sorts of things. They all say all sorts of things to get some form of sympathy or some form of recognition or a form of acceptance. And there were some things he said yesterday that were blatantly false.

“One of the most disturbing things he said yesterday was when he said the governor is using taxpayers’ money to fund an aspirant. I think His Excellency Phillip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor, being number two, should provide proof to Nigerians for such grievous allegations. It is completely false, it’s irresponsible, and we challenge him to come out and show proof of that type of allegations.”

Nehikhare also addressed Shaibu’s claim that Obaseki had betrayed him as he said that the allegations of betrayal are irrelevant to the politics of the state.

He said, “Our government is focused on finishing strong, our government is focused on providing services and providing infrastructure for the people of Edo State. We are not involved in this succession battle which Shaibu has taken personally, and we wish him well. He’s a member of the party, and he is free like the governor has said so many times, to contest for it and ask the people of PDP to nominate him as their candidate.”

Speaking further, the commissioner refuted the claim that Obaseki is bringing back political godfatherism in the state by supporting an ‘outsider’ in his bid to be the governor of the state.

Nehikhare said Shaibu is “clutching at all types of straws” because the governor failed to support his governorship ambition.

He said: “We in Edo State know that we must put up our best as our candidate at all times. We’re not going to compromise quality for rabble-rousers; we are not. We have lots of people interested in the position of the governor who come from across the three territorial districts, and we do not see anyone as an outsider.

“Instead, we are proud that our sons have left Benin many years ago, set up businesses across the country, and those businesses are thriving. They have put in place mechanisms to make sure these businesses work out and people are running them even after they have exited that business. How can you now call that kind of a man an outsider?

“Meanwhile, here we have a deputy governor who has all his life been in politics. He left school, served at the Student Union, and he has not set up one single business that we can call sustainable. But whatever he has, he has made through the patronage of politics. We want the best of Edo at all times to come and run our state.”

The commissioner also affirmed that Obaseki has not said he has a preferred candidate and would not interfere in choosing the PDP’s flagbearer.

He said: “What I see going on in Edo is that Edo people have unanimously, within PDP, said we want the best for our state. Apart from Asue Ighodalo, other people have also come up asking for this same ticket. And when you look at their antecedents, you will notice that they have done well in whatever industries they are involved in, and we encourage them.

Whoever the governor’s preference is doesn’t determine who the candidate becomes. The candidate comes from who the delegates of the party choose on the day of the primaries.”