No Condition Given to Shaibu by Obaseki, Says Edo Govt

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city

A source close to the Edo State Government House in Benin-city declared yesterday that there was no iota of truth that the state Governor Godwin Obaseki gave his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, any condition to accept the latter’s public apology.

The media space was filled with news attributed to Obaseki that the only condition to accept his deputy’s public apology was for him to denounce his governor’s ambition.

It was also reported that the Edo State Executive Council meeting was shifted to Lagos without the deputy in attendance.

According to the news which was on many online news platforms, “Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has given a condition for accepting the public apology tendered to him by his Deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu. The governor who returned from his vacation abroad over the weekend said he has no business with his deputy until he proves absolute loyalty to him.

“Before arriving in Nigeria from his foreign trip, the governor had instructed all members of Exco to assemble in Lagos for a two-day meeting with him. He insisted that the deputy governor should not be invited or informed of the meeting. The meeting was termed: ‘Exco retreat with Mr. Governor’.

“Arrangements were made for those invited to the meeting to arrive in Lagos last Saturday.

“Members of the state House of Assembly had theirs a fortnight ago in Rwanda. Before the meeting, Obaseki told members of his kitchen cabinet in Lagos that for him to forgive his deputy, the latter must publicly withdraw from the governorship race.

“Obaseki added that if the deputy dares to participate in the forthcoming primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his security vote will be stopped and he will be excluded from all government activities, including meetings of the Edo State Executive Council.

“As a prelude to making good his threat, the State Executive Council meeting for this week took place in Lagos on September 25. The invitation for the meeting was extended to all Exco members with the exception of the deputy governor.

“To avoid public criticism, the governor told his handlers to fix an Exco seminar a day before the meeting to enable third parties to attend so that it will not be considered a formal but emergency exco meeting.

“The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of Alaghodaro, Asue Ighodalo, who is the governor’s anointed candidate for next year’s governorship election was invited to the Exco seminar in Lagos.

“It is expected that the governor will unveil and introduce his successor to all Exco members in Lagos this week,” a source attending the seminar said.

Last week, the deputy governor was locked out of his office in the Government House on the orders of the governor. It was this particular incident that made the deputy governor to publicly apologise to the governor, who in the last month has refused to communicate with him.

But refuting the report, a source at Edo State Government House, who refused his name mentioned, said the state Exco meeting held in Lagos was an annual retreat.

The source, who noted that at no time did the state government relocate to Lagos, added: “Investigation has revealed that the Edo State Executive Council has not relocated to Lagos contrary to rumours making the rounds, rather, the Exco only went for its annual retreat with the state Governor, Obaseki, commissioners and other heads of MDAs in attendance.”

According to the source, the retreat which was held at Lakowe Lakes Golf Resort and Country Estate on the outskirts of Lagos, is a yearly ritual by the state government for strategic sessions with different invited resource persons to brainstorm on the programmes of the government and set agenda for the coming year, with guidelines and dateline for implementation, among others.

Debunking insinuation that it was to prevent Shaibu from attending the meeting, the source who did not state clearly if the deputy governor was at the meeting, said: “There is no iota of truth in Obaseki giving condition to Shaibu to forget his ambition to contest the 2024 governorship primaries of the PDP.”