From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Reinstated deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, yesterday, explained why he went to court after his impeachment, saying it was to protect the office of the deputy governor in Nigeria which has been ridiculed by some governors since 1999.
Speaking to journalists after a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Benin, Shaibu said his reinstatement by the court was an act of God.
He called on the federal government and the Inspector General of Police to investigate the killing of a policeman while he was on his way from the Benin airport, disclosing that the policeman was an orderly to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Monday Okpebholo.
“The governor said he will destroy me and that is why I decided that the office of the deputy governor of Edo State, I will fight to make sure that sanity and respect is brought back to that office.
“All these I am doing is not to earn anything but to make sure that the sanity of the office of the deputy governor is restored in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“What other deputies cannot fight, I will fight on their behalf so that governors will start respecting that office”, Shaibu said.
The deputy governor also spoke on his victory in court and said “I challenged God and I told Him that I want him to prove His power in my life, that people that are anti-God and anti-democracy are at it again and they want to use me as a scapegoat, I told God to show to the world that I am truly your son.
“They said they will impeach me and I will go to court and that by the time judgment will come the tenure will have been over, I now challenged God to it, to prove to them that they have touched His anointed and that the judgment will come faster more than expected, I said I will need the judgment to come before the election.
“By the grace of God, democracy has come to stay and we that fought for democracy will protect it, anti-democratic forces must be flushed out and by the grace of God we will succeed”, he stated.
On the coming election in the state, Shaibu enjoined youths not to allow themselves to be used but to vote in the election to remove “anti-democratic people” rather than allow themselves to be used for violence.
“This election is the time to change anti-democratic forces and you must do it through the ballot, don’t engage in violence. I have been preaching this for the past year when the intimidation and harassment against me started”.
Commenting on the attack that led to the death of a policeman, Shiabu said “I refused to pull anybody to the streets because they were saying we know him, he will soon pull people to the streets.
“They know what they have done and they are trying to cover up but this one, they cannot cover it up not when a police officer was a victim, they cannot cover this, all of them must be picked. They orchestrated it, the men of the vigilante did that.
“The vigilante in Edo State killed a policeman, the IG must look into it, they are struggling to see who they can rope people in, they cannot rope anybody in. I am urging the president and IG to set up an enquiry to investigate this killing, not only the killing but proscribe vigilante in Edo.”