Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, has alleged that Philip
Shaibu, his deputy, hatched a plan to kick him out of office.
Addressing stakeholders in a video posted by AIT on Friday,
Obaseki said Shaibu has become so desperate to succeed him, ahead of the Edo
governorship election in 2024.
“He (Shaibu) went to Abuja and was boasting that he has
connections in Abuja, that he has people in the national assembly, that they
are all with the president now, that they will take care of him,” Obaseki said.
“That if he cannot get the ticket in PDP, he knows what to
do.
“I kept quiet and
said I thought we were together. But what struck me, and I have never said this
to anybody, is that after I proclaimed the house of assembly, we were now going
to elect officers.
“He was in Abuja, he came back that day. I am the chief security
officer of this state. I get any information I need. But I have that
responsibility to keep quiet and use the information properly.
“My deputy called the leader in APC, telling that leader
that during the elections on the next day, particularly speaker of the house of
assembly, that he has five members who are loyal to him and that he would like
the seven members of APC to work with his five members of PDP to produce the
next speaker.
“As far as I am
concerned, that was not working in our common interest.
“Why would the deputy governor seek to have another
speakership candidate outside of what the governor wants? Are we working
together?
“That was when I knew we had a problem. That the deputy
governor has become so desperate to take over that he would do anything,
including carrying out a coup, against his governor.
“How can you say you are loyal and you will do such a
thing?”
Obaseki said he has repeatedly told Shaibu to keep his
governorship ambition in check because there is still a lot of work to be done
before next year’s transition.
BACKGROUND
On July 28, Shaibu approached a federal high court in Abuja
with a suit to prevent an alleged impeachment plot against him.
In the suit, the inspector-general of police, state security
service, governor of Edo, speaker of Edo state house of assembly, and chief
judge of Edo state, were listed as first to fifth defendants, respectively.
The deputy governor asked the court to restrain the
governor, the speaker of the state assembly, and the chief judge, from
“initiating impeachment proceedings or sanctioning any impeachment” against
him.
Shaibu accused the governor of preventing him from
performing his constitutional duties.
Reacting to the suit, Obaseki alleged that the court action
taken by Shaibu was a preemptive move ahead of his defection to the APC.
The Edo governor said there is no plan to impeach his
deputy, while alleging that Shaibu has been actively engaging with members of
the APC at the national and state levels to negotiate his way into the ruling
party.
On August 4, the court restrained Obaseki, the speaker, and
other parties in the suit from initiating impeachment moves against Shaibu.
On Thursday, the court restated that parties in a suit filed
by Shaibu should maintain the status quo, pending the next hearing date.
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