As Shaibu Buckles under Pressure

With the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, buckling under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s superior onslaught and begging for his forgiveness, will this bring the feud between them to an end? Asks Wale Igbintade

After weeks of feud between him and boss, Governor Godwin Obaseki, Edo State Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu, last Thursday buckled when he begged for forgiveness.

Shaibu fell out with Obaseki over his ambition to contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state. The rift led to the governor being moved to another office outside the government house.

But addressing journalists shortly after his investiture as the Grand Patron of the Catholic Men Organisation of Nigeria (CMO) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin, Shaibu said he was making apology for any unintentional mistakes he may have committed while fulfilling his responsibilities. He noted that the plea became necessary to ensure that the present administration finishes well in the state.

 “Like I have always said, I am a loyal servant and nothing has changed. I took a vow to support my governor and as you can see the Catholic people are here.

“Everything about me is that if I have a vow with God, there is nothing that can change it. I can only wish that the relationship that we have before, I prayed and know that in the next few weeks it will come back.

“I am missing my governor and I prayed that God will touch my governor’s and all us heart, and even those that are try to be in between us, God would touch their hearts to know that I mean well. If there is any mistake I have made as human, it is just human and not act of wickedness because I am not wicked and I have a clean heart.

“I use this medium to appeal to Mr. governor that if there is any mistake I have made or if there anything that I have done that I don’t know of, he should please forgive me so that we can develop our state together.”

Shaibu said he and the governor had just one year to go, and that they had been the envy of the entire country because many saw it impossible.

Recall that the feud between Obaseki and Shaibu got messier last Monday with the governor’s decision to bar his estranged deputy from the Government House.

Reports had it that when Shaibu arrived at his office in the morning same day, he saw that the gate to the deputy governor’s office at Dennis Osadebey Avenue and the main door leading to the one storey-building were both secured with chains and hefty padlocks. He and his aides waited for about an hour before leaving. Shaibu, during that period, reportedly made frantic phone calls to his principal, Governor Obaseki, but to no avail.

An assistant to the deputy governor who made the pictures available to the public anonymously disclosed that his principal had some discussions with the Commissioner of Police and the Director, Department of State Services (DSS), informing them of how he was locked out of his office.

According to him, there was no official communication to the effect that the deputy governor’s office had been locked. Shaibu was consequently said to have summoned the Camp Commandant at the Government House, SP Ibrahim Babatunde, questioning why he was locked out of his office.

“He said it was a directive from above adding that the CSO in government house, Wabba, will be in a better position to explain,” the aide said.

Shaibu was said to have put calls to Wabba Williams who promised to come to the scene, but never came all through the period Shaibu waited.

Penultimate week, a letter said to be from the office of the Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa, was reported to have been sent to the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor directing Shaibu to relocate to a new office situated at No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, GRA, Benin City.

But the embattled deputy governor said he was yet to receive a formal letter from the governor’s office concerning his relocation to a new office. He noted that formalising the relocation was the proper thing to do.

But shortly after, a letter surfaced on the social media showing that Shaibu was duly informed of his relocation from the Government House.

For those who have been following their feud, nobody would have expected that the cordial relationship between the two men would break down so easily to the extent that the centre can no longer hold. Neither the governor nor his deputy saw it coming. In the build-up to the 2020 governorship election in the state, both men had formed what many had thought was an unbreakable alliance. Together, they confronted the onslaught of the then National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole to emerge victorious as governor and deputy governor respectively.

Signs of friction however surfaced when Shaibu showed interest in succeeding his boss in the upcoming governorship election in the state in 2024. His decision did not go down well with the governor who felt Shaibu’s true intention was to undermine his authority.

It was alleged that Shaibu did not formally inform his boss of his intention and embarked on consultation over his ambition, apparently with the intention of informing the governor at the appropriate time. However, Obaseki appeared unwilling to support his deputy’s ambition.

The governor was also said to have appealed to his associates who were interested in the governorship race to focus more on ensuring that the administration finished well and strong.

Since the feud began, the governor has stripped off his deputy of state the responsibilities he had once controlled such as revenue supervision and sports administration in the state. Recently, the governor had ordered the disbandment of his media crew over what the state government described as an ugly and unfortunate incident that happened during the colloquium held to mark the 60th-anniversary celebration of the Midwest Referendum at the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub.

Recently, there was a mild drama at the church service to mark the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the state, as a security operative attached to the governor, stopped Shaibu from approaching his principal.

As the deputy governor approached Obaseki who was seated beside his wife, Betsy, and the representative of the Delta State Governor, Charles Aniagwu, to greet them, he was embarrassed by a security operative who stopped him within two meters away from the governor.

Governor Obaseki looked the other way as Shaibu explained himself to the security operative who firmly, but in a friendly tone, kept the deputy governor away. Shaibu embarrassingly returned to his seat as the service continued.

In spite of this, the deputy governor however, still expressed his loyalty to his boss at the event. 

“But that does not stop anything that has to do with ambition. Ambition is personal and it does not affect loyalty. My loyalty to the governor remains absolute. I see that everybody is doing solidarity. I am also in solidarity with the governor. I am also declaring my unalloyed solidarity and loyalty to the governor and nothing more,” he said.

Obaseki’s strong body language against his deputy’s ambition may not be unconnected with his alleged desire to cede the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s ticket to Edo Central Senatorial District, a zone that is expected to produce the next governor of the state based on the unwritten agreement of power-sharing in the state. The zone has consistently insisted on fairness, equity and justice.

Edo South and Edo North have dominated the governorship since 1999. Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who hails from Edo North Senatorial District, was governor for eight years between 2009 and 2017. Governor Obaseki who succeeded Oshiomhole is from Edo South.

The crack between the two men manifested when Shaibu approached a Federal High Court in Abuja and alleged that the governor and the state House of Assembly were plotting to impeach him. The court granted the deputy governor an interim restraining order pending the proper determination of his application.

Shaibu’s search for legal protection came to Obaseki as a shock, setting the stage for the feud that has dominated major political discussions in the state and Nigeria. The state House of Assembly and the governor denied knowledge of any plans to impeach the deputy governor.

Obaseki in his reaction, accused him of disloyalty and planning to overthrow him because of his desperation to become the next governor of the state.

The governor had recently described the rift between him and his deputy as unfortunate, sad, and avoidable because “the people know where we are coming from and what we have gone through.”

Speculations were that Shaibu may not survive the political gang-up, humiliation and annihilation that lies ahead if developments in the last few days since he returned from his annual leave are anything to go by.

Since Obaseki is determined to cut him to size and clip his political wings, some political watchers believe that the embattled deputy governor should eat the humble pie and toe the path of honour. They believe that since genuine reconciliation is not feasible, it will be best for Shaibu to tender his resignation letter.

On more than one occasion, the deputy governor has severally expressed optimism that the storm between him and his boss will eventually be resolved outside the prying eyes of the public and the media. But how that can be achieved remains daunting, as the gulf between them widens daily.

But despite the withdrawal of the suit he filed to stop the alleged plots to remove him from office, there was respite for him.

One thing that is not clear is if Obaseki is ready to forgive and trust him going forward.