The embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Philip Shaibu, has reportedly travelled to the United States amid a plot by Governor Godwin Obaseki and his loyalists to use the state House of Assembly to sack him.
Shaibu’s journey to the US happened as lawmakers loyal to the state governor launched a series of meetings to perfect his removal.
The lawmakers in the governor’s camp have, according to feelers, begun a drive for signatures with which they planned to reinforce their petition and push through a resolution to set the stage for his eventual removal from office.
The governor’s camp has reportedly approached 12 members of the Edo State House of Assembly to canvass the removal of the deputy governor, according to the governor’s immediate past Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Andrew Emwanta.
Speaking in an interview on Channels TV, Emwanta disclosed that a strategy meeting of the assembly members and their sponsors had been scheduled for Abuja today to perfect the plot against the deputy governor.
As the plot is thickening, a report by gwg.com said that the deputy governor had temporarily relocated to the United States where “he is monitoring the moves against him by the camp of the governor.”
But Enwanta claimed during a television interview that “12 members of the House of Assembly were approached, and you know that among the 12, the deputy governor has one or two loyalists who leaked the plot.
“You know they need 16 members. So, four other members were to be sourced from the eight APC members but when they saw that the plot will leak once the APC people are aware, there was a final plan for a meeting to hold on the 6th of this month in Abuja where four members’ signatures would have been forged, impeachment plot would be arranged and if the deputy governor was not comfortable with whatever would have happened, he would be told to go to court.
“But you know that when you impeach a deputy governor, it is very difficult to bring him back because the judicial process is very long.”
The embattled deputy governor had, on Friday, secured an order from a Federal High Court in Abuja ordering Governor Obaseki and the State House of Assembly to stay action on the alleged impeachment plot against him.
Meanwhile, there were reports that the political feud between the governor and his deputy was not unconnected to the 2024 governorship ambition of the former.
Shaibu, from Edo North, is planning to succeed his boss in 2024; whereas the governor is not disposed to his deputy’s ambition.The governor, it was gathered, is looking elsewhere for his successor. He is reportedly looking at Edo Central and in a worst case scenario at Edo South for his successor.
But Shaibu, from Edo North, knowing the control the governor exercises on the structure of their faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the state, is perfecting his plans to dump the PDP.
Edo State is divided into three senatorial districts – South, Central, and North. Governor Obaseki, who is from Edo South, succeeded Senator Adams Oshiomhole from Edo North in 2016, who is from the same local government area as Philip Shaibu.A report by THE WILL said that aware of the zoning system in PDP, Shaibu went into talks with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and members of the PDP from the state, who had decamped to the APC.
Shaibu reportedly unveiled his political moves immediately after the 2023 presidential election by forming a campaign group in all the wards across the state.
An insider familiar with the development in Government House, who confirmed the feud, said Governor Obaseki had consistently maintained that it was not time for politics so that “governance does not suffer.”
According to the report, he had insisted that at the appropriate time, attention would be given to politics.
Meanwhile, facts have emerged on why Governor Obaseki has refused to Shaibu as his preferred successor.
It was gathered that the governor is not disposed to his successor emerging from Edo North senatorial district where his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole hails from.
Shaibu hails from same Etsako extraction where Oshiomhole and the minister-designate, Abubakar Momoh, hail from in Edo North.
Sources said Obaseki plans to balance the power tripod in the State by ensuring his successor hails from Edo Central or other parts of Edo North senatorial district.
A source named Asue Ighodalo as the likely man the governor prefers to succeed him.
Besides the issue of power balancing, the source said Obaseki does not believe Shaibu would continue with his plans and vision as spelt out in his 30-year development plans.The source said suspicion that Shaibu may defect to the APC was confirmed when he attended the Abuja inauguration party of Oshiomhole without clearance from Obaseki.
It was gathered that the deputy governor was alarmed when he was prevented from entering the governor’s office as he was told to give prior notice before seeing the governor.
“The governor has put certain protocols in place that he has earlier overlooked for the sake of peace. Some of the protocols included Shaibu must informed him before storming his office and ensuring Shaibu is stopped from entering State Executive Council meetings whenever he is late. Shaibu used to come late to Exco meetings but the governor has put a stop to it.
“How can the deputy governor handle revenue of a State? Obaseki gave him a long rope to operate but the governor is now setting things properly.“
Shaibu has gone round the political wards in the state and set up structures without informing the governor. The governor himself is focusing on governance and cannot sacrifice other ethnic groups like the Akokos, the Owans, the Esan, to support his deputy who is from Estako.
Shaibu is yet to declare his intention to run for the 2024 governorship race but his inability to get support of his boss was said to have stalled a formal declaration.
Several aides closed to Shaibu refused to speak on the issue. One of them said, ‘Oga is going ahead to contest for the governorship.’
@Thisday Newspaper
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