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By Chinyere Anyanwu
There seems to be no end in sight to the political fight between the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, as the deputy governor has declared that he feels betrayed by the governor.
Shaibu, speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show, accused Governor Obaseki of betraying him by opposing his ambition to succeed him as the next governor of the state.
The deputy governor stated that Obaseki wants to play the role of a political godfather in the state, a situation they both fought and agreed should never be.
Shaibu denied any formal discussions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regarding a successor to Obaseki in 2024 when his tenure will end.
He emphasised that their shared focus remains on serving the people and dismantling the influence of “godfathers” in Edo politics.
“Anyone who said I betrayed him is not correct. We all agreed as a group to fight godfathers – even the governor pledged to fight godfatherism in the state,” Shaibu insisted.
Shaibu also used the platform to address criticisms around his own ambitions, stating that, “it is not an Edo Central or Edo North thing”, addressing concerns within the party about regional representation in future elections.
Furthermore, Shaibu took a swipe at his detractors, saying, “it is those who don’t have political charisma to sell themselves who are complaining.”
The deputy governor seized the opportunity to assure Edo citizens that his emergence as the state governor in the forthcoming election will mean better life for them.
He noted that, “there’s been a significant growth in the state’s economy but there’s still a lot that needs to be done such as road and electricity infrastructure. The roads in Edo are very bad, especially the federal roads. When I become governor, I’m going to face the federal roads.”
He equally promised to create over 30,000 jobs through sports; grow the state’s GDP through private sector driven agricultural investments as well as build railroads which he called the orange line.
