Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has admitted that there is a rift between him and his deputy, Philip Shaibu.
According to the governor, Shaibu has become so desperate to succeed him that he can do anything to remove him from office.
Obaseki who spoke while addressing stakeholders in a video posted by AIT on Friday, revealed how his deputy, Shaibu allegedly conspired with seven members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the state House of Assembly to enthrone another Speaker in the House against his preferred choice.
He asked how Shaibu could be so so desperate to succeed him ahead of the Edo governorship election in 2024, without even telling him that he is interested in succeeding him.
He said, “The constitution makes me the governor of Edo State and I know the powers of a governor. The constitution does not provide for a co-governor. Does it? It provides a deputy governor who carries out responsibilities the governor gives to him, it does not give him the power of the governor.
“Before now, he has been going around saying he is consulting because after the national assembly elections we met, we had a small meeting and I said ‘Look I know the next major election will be the governorship election, how to choose the person who will succeed me but it is too early. The things we do now, and how we finish well will determine how strong we are to sell the person who will take over. But more importantly, we must solidify our party (Peoples Democratic Party) because PDP must by the Grace of God produce the next governor’.
“So, the work we must be doing now is how to consolidate the party, how to reconcile the party, and how to make the party one again. That is why I took a specific interest in the local government election so that we can consolidate and unify our party. So when all these issues were coming out for the local government nominations, everywhere I went there is already camps oh! This one is for deputy, I say ah! I have not finished my term, won’t you allow me to finish, I said stop doing this.
“Till tomorrow, the deputy has never come to meet me one-on-one to say ‘Oga, you know what, I am thinking of running oh! I want to see how I can succeed you when you finish’. Meanwhile, he said he is consulting and I kept quiet and said if you think I am someone you impose your idea on when you have finished consulting I will be watching. I didn’t say anything.
“He is going around doing all sorts; let me go back to the main issue, what happened and created this problem.”
“He 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 the 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 the Speaker of the House of Assembly, 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.”
He further narrated to the stakeholders: “We meet, agreed and the next day we went to the House of Assembly. We went there and we did what we did. As far as I am concerned that was not working in our common interest. Why will the deputy governor seek to have another speakership candidate outside what the governor wants? That is where I now knew that we had a problem.
“To say that the deputy governor has become so desperate to take over that he will do anything including undertaking to carry out a coup against his governor. How can you say you are loyal and you do such kind of a thing?
“He will go to so many places as if to say that we are not the same government again.”