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Tag: Shaibu

  • Edo 2024: Shaibu’s talk about Obaseki’s betrayal laughable – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Shaibu’s talk about Obaseki’s betrayal laughable – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    It’s like the kettle calling the pot black when, the other day, Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu lamented that Governor Godwin Obaseki’s betrayed him – on account of the governor “supporting an outsider” (an unknown non-politician) for the 2024 governorship, rather than his deputy of over seven years in the governance of Edo State. Which makes one to wonder if politicians have conscience, and if it pricks them? Comrade Shaibu’s forgotten how he betrayed former Governor Adams Oshiomhole – whom he still addresses as “my father” perhaps to humour him – in order to ingratiate Mr Obaseki, who also betrayed Comrade Oshiomhole.

    Let’s see snappets of Shaibu’s lamentations on January 10, 2024, during an interview on Arise Television, as reported by Vanguard: “I feel betrayed by the governor (Obaseki). I feel very betrayed. When we go to church, there are certain biblical verses that are becoming to make meaning to me.

    “There is this particular verse that has been going through my mind: ‘The heart of man is desperately wicked.’ When I see what the governor is doing, the verse now makes meaning to me.”

    On how he became deputy governor, and his political and financial contributions to Obaseki’s elections in 2016 and 2020, and his government,

    Shaibu said: “Actually, I was persuaded, and there was no protest (from members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). I actually didn’t want to be a deputy governor. I was very comfortable in the House of Representatives.

    “It took almost one month to get me to accept to be the deputy governor of Edo State. I accepted to add value to the ticket of Obaseki because Obaseki was not known, and he was not one of the politicians. They needed a young, vibrant politician that has won election before and that can add political value to the ticket.

    “I added value in terms of my political structure, my finances. All the vehicles that were used to campaign in 2016 are mine. I lost about 20% of my political capital in Edo North to support Godwin Obaseki, and in supporting him even as deputy governor.

    “I supported the second term bid of the governor with my finances, including how we got the ticket of the PDP. I contributed financially, both in naira and in dollars. (According to Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, as of December 11, 2023, Shaibu’s net worth was $5m or approximately N2bn.) If I say betrayal, it’s an understatement. I feel very hurt and betrayed.”

    So, in a manner of reciprocity, Shaibu expects Obaseki to support his aspiration to succeed him in 2024, amidst claims that Obaseki promised to back Shaibu for supporting his governorship, government, and the battle to dethrone Oshiomhole’s political hegemony, and sack him as National Chairman of the APC.

    At loggerheards over the 2024 governorship – leading to Shaibu taking out court writs to preempt alleged impeachment moves against him by Obaseki and the House of Assembly, and Obaseki countering by divesting Shaibu of certain duties and powers of his office, and relocating his office outside the Government House in Benin City – Shaibu still invoked Obaseki’s name during his declaration for Governor in November 2023.

    “As your deputy governor in the last seven years, I have had the privilege of working closely with our amiable governor, Godwin Obaseki, to lay a solid foundation for the progress in Edo State,” Shaibu said, apparently flattering the governor, as it’s clear by then that Obaseki’s support was for his business partner, Mr Asue Ighodalo, a Lagos-based lawyer.

    Polity watchers aren’t surprised about Obaseki’s cold shoulder to Shaibu. It’s a case of “use-and-dump after Shaibu acted as the house mouse, inviting Obaseki into the house to deal decisive political blows against Oshiomhole.

    Against opposition from formidable foundation members of the defunct Action Congress (AC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and the APC – including his Deputy Governor Pius Odubu – Oshiomhole single-handedly picked Obaseki as APC’s candidate, and did a yeoman’s campaign for him to win the 2016 governorship against former Secretary to Edo State Government (SSG), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who’d returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when Oshiomhole wouldn’t look his way for the governorship.

    But not long after, Obaseki broke with Oshiomhole, accusing his erstwhile soul mate and political benefactor of attempting to lord it over him and his government as a “godfather,” – which Oshiomhole really assumed in 2016 to swing the candidacy for and “crown” Obaseki as Governor of Edo State.

    Yet, Obaseki – underming Oshiomhole’s benevolent spirit that broke his palm kernel for him – was to reward Oshiomhole with a series of betrayals. If Obaseki could do that to Oshiomhole, who’s Shaibu, an appendage to Obaseki already “anointed” by then Governor Oshiomhole as “Governor-in-waiting” before Shaibu’s picked as his running mate!

    Shaibu should remember how the legacy members of the PDP, headed by National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, kicked against his being made running mate to Obaseki in the 2020 election, and Obaseki would prevail on them that he and Shaibu were inseparable “political Siamese twins” – though Shaibu did a lot of ground-wetting, “in Naira and in dollars,” as he admitted above, to smoothen their path to retaining the governorship.

    Now, the question should be: Who’s a better or worse betrayer between Shaibu and Obaseki, both of whom derived their respective position in the governance of Edo State to the political benefaction of Senator Oshiomhole?

    Unless there’re contrary revelations – such as Shaibu claiming he’s pleaded with for a month to accept the post of deputy governor, without naming on whose behalf the persons pled – information in the public domain remains that Oshiomhole enabled the nomination of Obaseki and Shaibu for governor and deputy governor, and their election in 2016.

    Agreed that Shaibu’s a member of the House of Representatives in 2015 – after two terms at the Edo State House of Assembly (2007-2015) – and as such, had some political pedigree and structures in Etsako Central/East/West federal constituency – one of three constituencies of Edo North senatorial district.

    In that wise, Shaibu can boast he’s part of – and not entirely – the instrument the AC deployed to win Edo North in the 2007 poll that ushered Oshiomhole in as governor in 2008; the ACN in 2012 for Oshiomhole’s re-election; and the APC in the 2015 General Election, the 2016 governorship for Obaseki’s election, and the 2019 general election in the district, respectively.

    But Shaibu’s bandied “political myth” in Edo North was demystified in the 2020 governorship for Obaseki’s second term in office, and in the 2023 general election – both of which the PDP lost to the APC even when Shaibu’s deputy governor on the platform of the PDP.

    Meaning that all along from 2007, Shaibu held onto Oshiomhole’s coatail to win twice into Edo Assembly (2007 and 2012) and House of Representatives in 2015, and yet claims Edo North is his political stronghold. While he failed in his bid for the Edo Assembly in 2003 under the past All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the results of the 2020 Edo governorship, and the 2023 general election show that Shaibu’s political influence is limited to Etsako West, and actually to his ward!

    In closing, observers would reckon Governor Obaseki as a “better betrayer” of Senator Oshiomhole than Deputy Governor Shaibu. While Obaseki’s from Edo South, and a stranger until probably friendship, business and politics brought him and Oshiomhole together; Shaibu and Oshiomhole are of the same kindred in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo North.

    Put simply, Shaibu and Oshiomhole are kinsmen. And that’s why Shaibu’s a “worse betrayer,” whose strike against Oshiomhole – like that of Brutus against Cesaer – is the deepest cut, such that his charge of Obaseki betraying him is humourously laughable!

  • Edo 2024: I’ll defeat the so-called candidate of Obaseki – Shaibu

    Edo 2024: I’ll defeat the so-called candidate of Obaseki – Shaibu

    After formally announcing his intention to run for Edo governorship election in 2024, Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has said he will definitely defeat the preferred candidate of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    Shaibu gave the assurance while speaking on a TVC programme on Monday evening.

    According to Shaibu: “Definitely, I’ll defeat the so-called candidate of the governor, not because I have the power, but because Edo people want their own and I am their own. Edo people do not want importation; they want their own.

    “The problem I have with the governor is that he has allowed certain individuals that have interest in governance to come between us.

    “He is managing in his own style and the way he feels he can manage it. I am also managing it the way I feel I can manage it.

    “When I said I was pressed, but not distressed, I understand the kind of intimidation and oppression I have gone through.”

    However, Obaseki is believed to be rooting for a Lagos-based lawyer, Asue Ighodalo, who hails from Edo Central, as successor.

    The deputy governor who hails from Edo North Senatorial District had earlier reiterated his loyalty to Obaseki, who hails from Edo South, but insisted that he will contest for the poll.

  • Edo 2024: Shaibu dares Obaseki on governorship ambition – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Shaibu dares Obaseki on governorship ambition – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu subtly took Governor Godwin Obaseki to the cleaners on November 19 in Abuja, prompting polity watchers to predict a “battle royale” ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship poll to replace Obaseki, who completes his eight-year tenure next November.

    This comes two months after Shaibu’d cringed and cried – cutting a picture of a forlorn and hapless personality – as he begged and genuflected for Mr Obaseki to forgive him his real or imaginary indiscretions that overawed the governor.

    Shaibu soured relationship with Obaseki over his bid to succeed him. He later recanted, apologised and vouched his loyalty to Obaseki, saying he’d “taken a personal vow with God to support the governor,” who ironically doesn’t support Shaibu to succeed him.

    But with the gloves off in a no-holds-barred, innuendo-filled session with journalists in Abuja, Shaibu’s returned to his 2024 governorship ambition, which he says is alive, and consultations ongoing on the way forward.

    On suitability for governor, Shaibu claims to possess the requisite experience, knowledge of politics and practical, not experimental governance – a dig at Obaseki, a Lagos-based financier brought by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and made governor.

    Shaibu’s words: “With the 2024 Edo governorship election fast approaching, Edo people need practical governance, and you cannot experiment again with somebody who does not understand the politics of a good state and the needs of the people.

    “I understand the debt profile of the state, and where I feel I can get funding to put up structure in the state. So, I won’t be coming to learn on the job, but to hit the ground running.”

    Shaibu says the citizens are asking the government to “stop pushing for projects that are not needed in any environment” – again referring to Obaseki’s obsession with grandiose projects, signing of series of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for which critics label him “MoU Governor” for non-execution of the projects, many appearing only on paper.

    “So, everything we have to do should be assessed,” Shaibu said, adding, “You cannot know the need of the people when you don’t live with them” – this time baiting Obaseki’s reportedly endorsed Lagos-based businessman for the 2024 governorship.

    For 2024, Shaibu canvasses “competence and experience” as the watchwords, querying, “Who is competent? Who is more experienced? Who will hit the ground running from day one?”

    “Are we going to experiment with a new person again? And the person will spend the first four years learning on the job and he will spend another four years trying to embezzle, set up his businesses in the name of consolidating on the gains of the first term? Or do we need a governor that from day one will hit the ground running?”

    On Obaseki’s loggerheads with the APC Federal Government, Shaibu – who, along with Obaseki, dumped All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2020, after Obaseki’s disqualified from the ticket for re-election – says to succeed, a state government must collaborate with the central government.

    Obaseki had repeatedly publicly criticised the APC government of former President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged neglect of federal roads in Edo State; and accused the administration of printing Naira to run its activities.

    On rotation of the governorship among the senatorial districts in Edo State, with Esan-speaking people of Edo Central claiming it’s their turn to produce the governor in 2024, Shaibu of the Afemai stock of Edo North, says whereas other zones have had more than a turn at producing a governor, Edo North has had just one turn.

    Taking accounts of civilian governors who ruled Bendel State (Delta and Edo), and Edo State till date, Shaibu said: “We have had four governors from (Edo) south (Late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Lucky Igbinedion and Mr Obaseki), two from (Edo) central (Late Prof. Ambrose Alli and Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, whose election was voided by the courts, and in the eye of the law, was never a Governor) and only one from (Edo) north (Senator Oshiomhole).

    Shaibu added: “Just like my ambition to be deputy governor was not mine, but I made myself available, so also the ambition to be governor is still not mine. I’m only making myself available” – a reference to his endorsement by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of Ward 11 in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state on November 15.

    The unanimous call on Shaibu to run was made by PDP supporters during a reception for Shaibu at the ward meeting, chaired by Mr. Igbafe Agbonoga, who declared on behalf of the ward:

    “We have agreed that Philip Shaibu must run for 2024 Governorship Election. We know he will make a huge difference, if elected as the next governor of our dear state.

    “Our decision is based on the ideology of the deputy governor’s practicality in governance during his tenure as a member of Edo State House of Assembly and National Assembly respectively, which focused on paradigm shift in governance.

    “The Ward 11 PDP members and leadership, after critically examining the antecedents and capacity of the deputy governor, we have decided to endorse and support him to run and win the Edo 2024 governorship election.”

    Hailing Shaibu as the most credible and qualified person for Edo 2024, Agbonoga said Edo people needed not just any politician, “but a man with the best interest of the state at heart, in addition to the necessary experience.”

    “We need the deputy governor to steer the ship of the state from the failed expectations and disappointments that have been our bane,” the ward chairman said.

    “It is on this note that we are here, to announce that after careful scrutiny of those aspiring to be Governor, we have found that the most suitable man for the job is Rt Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, and we so endorse him for the number one seat of Edo State.”

    Due to unpredictability of politics, and politicians, not many would’ve forecasted Shaibu would turn the tables against Obaseki so soon after his humiliation, and apology to Obaseki for unkown offences he denied committing.

    Yet, as a pre-emptive strategy, Shaibu sued Obaseki in a couple of courts in Benin City and Abuja, to restrain the governor, Edo State House of Assembly and security agencies from alleged moves to impeach him in the run-up to the 2024 governorship.

    Obaseki – who’d dealt with his political godfather, Oshiomhole, leading to his sack as APC’s national chairman – took Shaibu as a small fry to handle, to show him that, “I remain the Governor of Edo State.”

    Accordingly, Obaseki ejected Shaibu from his office at the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City, and kept him floating for weeks, such that Shaibu’s seen in a viral video outside the Government House, telling someone on the phone that he’d no communication about the new office he’s relocated.

    The next day on September 19, Shaibu received a two-paragraph memo captioned, “Relocation of Office Accommodation,” dated September 15, from the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie.

    It reads: “I write to inform you that His Excellency, the Governor, has approved the relocation of your office accommodation to No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, G.R.A., Benin City.

    “You are therefore requested to ensure your compliance in line with Mr Governor’s approval, please.”

    And Shaibu – who told journalists on September 21 in Benin City that, “We have resumed (in the new office),” and that, “there is no problem with it, as the governor has asked us to go there” – tendered apology to Obaseki, who held back further actions against him – save the initial cutting him off from audience and contacts with him (Obaseki), attendance at certain official duties, and turning over Shaibu’s office to organisers of the state’s yearly ‘Alaghodaro Summit.’

    A scalded, scorched and seared Shaibu’d enlisted the powerful and influential in the society, to intercede for Obaseki to “forgive him,” for the good old days to roll once more.

    So, having withdrawn his writs in courts against Obaseki, Edo Assembly and security agencies, Shaibu invited the press on September 21, to assist him to disseminate widely his “Mother-of-all-pleadings” with Obaseki, who Shaibu, in a tone of comic relief, and a touch of religiosity, said he “really missed” his relationship.

    Shaibu said: “I will use this medium to appeal to Mr. Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me, so that we can develop our state together.

    “Mr Governor, please, if there is anything that you think I have done, I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong because that is my prayer for you.”

    Shaibu added: “I’m missing my governor really, and I know God will touch the governor’s heart and touch all of us and even those that are trying to be in-between. God will touch them to know that I mean well.

    “Like I always tell people, I am a loyal servant, there is nothing that has changed. I took a personal vow to support the Governor, and you can see my Catholic people are here. Everything about me, if I have a vow with God, there is nothing that will change it.”

    These words, capable of melting a stone – coupled with entreaties from well-meaning interceders – mollified Obaseki to accept a truce on September 28, one week after Shaibu offered his public apology.

    In a letter, “Re: Public Apology By The Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu,” Obaseki, touting himself as a “person of faith,” said he’s “under obligation to accept the apology.”

    He said: “I have noted the public apology made by the Deputy Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu. This apology followed an aberrant behaviour that contradicts what the people of Edo State stand for.

    “To name a few, the Deputy Governor needlessly filed unfounded petitions in the Nigerian courts restraining me, the State House of Assembly and Security agencies from a non-existent impeachment process, followed by repeated breaches of protocol; unwarranted and unprovoked attacks in the media on my person and the State Government.

    “The media frenzy as a result of the above and more, provided an impression of crises that has been precarious and distasteful to Edo people in the State and across the world.

    “Although these unwarranted provocations caused me severe personal discomfort, as a person of faith, I am under obligation to accept this apology because as they say, ‘to err is human, to forgive is divine.’

    “In good faith, I trust that the public apology as expressed by the Deputy Governor is genuine and followed by contrite steps to improve his conflict resolution skills. I also enjoin the Deputy Governor to guide his proxies to act in accordance with his piety.”

    Hardly two months later, Shaibu’s returned to 2024 governorship, and thrown down the gauntlet. Will Obaseki pick up the duel that’s likely to go beyond Election Day in September 2024, and with potential to heat up the polity in Edo State? It’s a guessing game with a governor that takes no prisoners!

  • Edo 2024: Obaseki’s ‘divine’ forgiveness of Shaibu’s ‘political follies’ – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Obaseki’s ‘divine’ forgiveness of Shaibu’s ‘political follies’ – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    “He who is begged or pleaded with is king,” is an adage that the average Edo person doesn’t take for granted, mostly if the act for which forgiveness is sought is committed publicly – such that the aggrieved feels slighted and injured – and the mollification is also displayed openly.

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki aptly symbolically assumes a kingly position lately, as he exhibits the spirit of divine, to forgive Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, who’d “erred” by aspiring to succeed Obaseki in 2024.

    It’s Shaibu’s inalienable right to aspire to be governor in an off-season election in September 2024, to round-off Obaseki’s eight-year tenure in November 2024. But Obaseki reckoned the act as in bad faith and taste.

    Deputy governors aren’t satisfied with playing second fiddle, and they begin plotting how to become the Chief Executive the day after their swearing in. To justify their aspiration, some deputy governors boast of influencing the governor’s pick for the position.

    But woe beside the deputy governor, who thinks the influence of their godfather will carry them through after the governor has assumed the full powers of office. And most times, their political benefactors become their first victims.

    In Nigeria’s brand of democracy in which the Constitution clothes the  governor with powers of overlordship that subsume other authorities – ancient and modern – the deputy governor is laughably a “spare tire,” who owes his stay in office to the benevolence of the governor, and thus should be heard and not seen, or they risk being rendered redundant in the scheme, or hounded out of office when they want to assert their authority.

    A deputy governor can hardly survive risking relationships with their principals on account of aspiring to succeed them. It’s either the governor engineers the mostly pliant members of the State House of Assembly to impeach the deputy governor over nebulous allegations of “gross misconduct,” or their powers are curtailed, and access to the governor and state activities limited or frozen.

    Such was the fate that befell Shaibu in his undisguised ambition to be governor in 2024. To clear all roadblocks, he filed suits in courts, to pre-empt Obaseki deploying the State Assembly to impeach him and scuttle his ambition.

    Obaseki felt that Shaibu had gone about the project in a manner that betrayed their cordial relationship since they came together in a joint ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2016, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2020.

    To Obaseki, who’d dealt with his acclaimed political godfather and predecessor in office, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole – culminating in the now Senator for Edo North being sacked by the courts as National Chairman of the APC – Shaibu’s a small fry to make mincemeat of.

    Thus, he cut communications with, and barred Shaibu from accessing him; stopped him from certain official activities, and relocated his office to outside the Government House, Benin City, via a two-para memo dispatched by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie, dated September 15, and received on September 19.

    The memo, “Relocation of Office Accommodation,” reads: “I write to inform you that His Excellency, the Governor, has approved the relocation of your office accommodation to No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, G.R.A., Benin City.

    “You are therefore requested to ensure your compliance in line with Mr Governor’s approval, please.”

    Surprisingly, Shaibu, after resuming in the new office, tendered his apology to Obaseki.

    The months-long political feud between Obaseki and Shaibu had the potential to threaten the peace and security of the proudly homogeneous Edo State dubbed the “Heart Beat of The Nation.”

    Particularly on the verge of getting dragged and enmeshed in the murky waters of politics and personal ambitions were the people of Edo South and Edo North, where Obaseki and Shaibu hail from, respectively.

    But before Obaseki could twist the screw further, well-meaning Nigerians stepped in to engender truce, leading to Shaibu’s withdrawal of his writs in the courts, and offering “sincere apologies” to Obaseki for whatever his follies.

    Shaibu told journalists in Benin City on September 21 that: “I will use this medium to appeal to Mr. Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me, so that we can develop our state together.

    “If there is any mistake that I have made as human, is (sic) not an act of maybe wickedness, because I’m not wicked. I have a very clean heart.

    “So Mr Governor, please, if there is anything that you think I have done, I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong because that is my prayer for you.”

    Shaibu vouched for his loyalty to Obaseki, and said he’d taken a personal vow with God to support the governor, stressing that, “If I have a vow with God, there is nothing that will change it.”

    He hoped for a return of the good old days with Obaseki, saying: “And I can only wish that the relationship that we had, in the next few days and weeks, I know it will come back… We’ve been the envy of the entire country; it (cordial relationship) is still possible.”

    Exactly one week after, on September 28, Shaibu’s prayers were answered, as Obaseki, touting himself as a “person of faith,” said he’s “under obligation to accept the apology.”

    In a letter, “Re: Public Apology By The Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu,” Obaseki said: “I have noted the public apology made by the Deputy

    Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu. This apology followed an aberrant behaviour that contradicts what the people of Edo State stand for.

    “To name a few, the Deputy Governor needlessly filed unfounded petitions in the Nigerian courts restraining me, the State House of Assembly and Security agencies from a non-existent impeachment process, followed by repeated breaches of protocol; unwarranted and unprovoked attacks in the media on my person and the State Government.

    “The media frenzy as a result of the above and more, provided an impression of crises that has been precarious and distasteful to Edo people in the State and across the world.

    “Although these unwarranted provocations caused me severe personal discomfort, as a person of faith, I am under obligation to accept this apology because as they say, ‘to err is human, to forgive is divine.”

    “In good faith, I trust that the public apology as expressed by the Deputy Governor is genuine and followed by contrite steps to improve his conflict resolution skills.

    “I also enjoin the Deputy Governor to guide his proxies to act in accordance with his piety.”

    “It is my sincere hope and that of my other colleagues in government and all well-meaning Edo people, that these rhetorics will be put to an end forthwith to enable this administration finish strong and deliver the dividends of democracy to the greatest number of Edo people over this final twelve (12) months.”

    Governor Obaseki deserves some plaudits! Yet, the swords sheathed, and the guns silenced, the lessons learned should endure, as political ambition die hard. For Shaibu – and many in his shoes – the ultimate is to be in full control as the Executive Governor, despite being deputy for eight years. Nothing else suffices!

    So, unless the “terms of the truce” for apology and forgiveness include total surrender of Shaibu’s ambition, the battle may be over, but the war will continue till September 2024. And it’ll be epic in proportion and ramifications on both sides!

  • Obaseki scorches political terrain, holds no prisoners – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Obaseki scorches political terrain, holds no prisoners – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The faceoff between Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu recalls to mind a popular meme – “If Men Were God” – adopted by a transport company plying many routes across Nigeria.

     The phrase was left hanging without supplying what would happen were men to be God! But trust Nigerians! They filled the void with a stream of alternatives, thus:

    If men were God, “Humans will have one eye, one nostril, one ear, one hand, one leg, no fingers, no toes, no teeth, no stomach, no private parts. And wait for this: The “men-God” will limit, ration or seize air completely for any infractions!

    Welcome to Edo State where Governor Obaseki straddles the “Heart Beat of The Nation” and strikes fears in cowered residents.

    Lately in a litany of actions, Obaseki’s cut communications with, and barred Shaibu from accessing him – hiding behind security details’ duty to choose who to allow access to the governor. Fair enough!

    On September 18, Shaibu’s left stranded at the outer fencing of the Government House, Benin City. He’s heard, in a viral video, telling someone on the phone that:

    “Up till now, I don’t have any official communication (about his new office). It’s the civil servants that have official communication. As I’m speaking to you now, I’m standing by the gate” (of the Government House).

    Shaibu’s ordeal stems from his “expulsion” from the Osadebey Avenue seat of Government, for “aspiring to be Governor” in 2024, and daring to take out a writ, to preempt Obaseki using the House of Assembly to “impeach” him and scuttle his ambition.

    So, Obaseki decreed that Shaibu relocate, but kept him floating for weeks before accessing the new office via a memo by Secretary to the State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie.

    The two-para memo, “Relocation of Office Accommodation,” dated September 15, and received on September 19, reads:

    “I write to inform you that His Excellency, the Governor, has approved the relocation of your office accommodation to No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, G.R.A., Benin City.

    “You are therefore requested to ensure your compliance in line with Mr Governor’s approval, please.”

    Obaseki’s derring-dos birthed prior to the 2020 election, which he snatched from the jaws of defeat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He’s denied a second-term ticket by All Progressives Congress (APC), headed by his acclaimed godfather and predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, now Senator for Edo North.

    Scaling the poll huddles, Obaseki, backed by Shaibu – a community relative of Oshiomhole – bared his fangs to pay back his “enemies” for risking his re-election and “undermining” his authority as governor.

    (Pre-the 2020 poll, in which Oshiomhole backed and campaigned for his challenger, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Obaseki told Oshiomhole that, “I’m still Governor of Edo State.”)

    Once again, Obaseki’s showing he remains the governor, by turning the heat on Shaibu who – already scalded, scorched and seared even as the battle has just begun – has surrendered and “begged for forgiveness.”

    He told journalists in Benin City on September 21 that, “We have resumed (in the new office). There is no problem with it, the governor has asked us to go there.”

    On the nitty-gritty of the parley with newsmen, Shaibu said: “I will use this medium to appeal to Mr. Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me, so that we can develop our state together.

    “If there is any mistake that I have made as human, is (sic) not an act of maybe wickedness, because I’m not wicked. I have a very clean heart.

    “So Mr Governor, please, if there is anything that you think I have done, I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong because that is my prayer for you.”

    As a comic relief, with a touch of religiosity, Shaibu said: “I’m missing my governor really, and I know God will touch the governor’s heart and touch all of us and even those that are trying to be in between. God will touch them to know that I mean well.

    “Like I always tell people, I am a loyal servant, there is nothing that has changed. I took a personal vow to support the Governor, and you can see my Catholic people are here. Everything about me, if I have a vow with God, there is nothing that will change it.”

    And hoping for the best, Shaibu added: “And I can only wish that the relationship that we had, in the next few days and weeks, I know it will come back. We have just less than how many months, just one year to go. We’ve been the envy of the entire country; it is still possible.”

    Did Shaibu also covenant with God that he’s going to “enter and leave government together with Obaseki,” without scheming to be Governor immediately thereafter, as revealed by the governor’s handlers?

    Shaibu’s words can melt a stone, but will they cut ice with Obaseki, who appears to have crossed his mind about the deputy governor he’s accused of betraying and sabotaging him?

    Shaibu’s pleading for forgiveness may even embolden Obaseki to continue to run roughshod over his opponents. As Republican State Rep. Daniel Perez of Florida, United States, says about Governor Ron DeSantis’ highhanded governance of Florida, “the problem of wielding the power of government like a hammer is that the people start looking like nails.”

    Governor Obaseki’s wielded, and brought down the hammer too often that the list of victims keeps growing, starting with Tony Kabaka Adun, whose multi-million Naira hotel was bulldozed in February 2020.

    And having ignored an order of the court that’s about to give judgment on the hotel, Obaseki turned round to demand N18 million from Mr Adun, as the cost of bringing down his edifice. What an irony!

     Barely a year after, the demolition squad uprooted the property of former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr Pius Odubu; a House of Reps member, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere; and Chief Executive Officer of PADMOZI Sports Marketing, Mr Mike Itemuagbor; while the land for Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s farm estate was revoked.

    Since 2016, Obaseki’s also prevented inauguration of 14 APC House of Assembly members, and caused removal of the Assembly roof to deny access to the 14 lawmakers, allegedly planning to impeach him; hounded Oshiomhole out of Edo, and directed that he seek his (Obaseki’s) permission to visit the state; and reportedly “sponsored” Oshiomhole’s suspension by his ward executive, leading to his sack by the courts as National Chairman of the APC. Deputy Governor Shaibu is next to taste Governor Obaseki’s fury.

    Critics, including Edo APC, accuse Obaseki of vendetta, for “regularly and willfully demolishing property belonging to perceived opponents, and dissenting or critical voices in the state, in the bid to foist a siege mentality on the citizenry.”

    Obaseki’s said the structures were “built on government land,” and that, “anybody who contravenes the law, no matter how highly placed you are in Edo State, you will be dealt with.”

    “Businesses cannot thrive when there is anarchy and complete disrespect for the law. For us as a government, whatever we need to do to ensure that there is law and order, will be done,” Obaseki warned.

    But if Obaseki were acting in the public interest to retrieve “limited” government property at the GRA in Benin City, why not bulldoze other property, starting with his own?

    Coming to Shaibu, he’d acted like the house mouse, to sell Oshiomhole out to Obaseki in the name of “loyalty” and with an eye to the 2024 governorship.

    That “ambition” appears up in the air, courtesy of Obaseki, who Shaibu helped to salvage his second-term ambition by throwing his “mentor and father,” Oshiomhole, under the bus.

    Yet, besides one good turn deserving another, Shaibu’s inalienable right to dream, and aspire to be the Executive Governor of Edo State if his political platform and the electorate sanctioned it.

    As Shaibu’s expressed remorse for whatever his indiscretions, and pleads with Obaseki to “find a place in his heart” to forgive him, may I remind the governor about the unkindness of history, as he faces the homestretch of his eight years of governing Edo State?

    Earlier in the heady days of his administration, l’d cause to advise him to tread softly for the sake of posterity, channeling the counsel through a March 29, 2021, article captioned, “Edo 2020: Legacy Obaseki wants remembered for.”

    In it, I recalled the immortal words of a popular social-political critic in the defunct Bendel (Delta and Edo) State, Air Iyare. He’s the type that lobes dynamites at the authorities, and you only ignore him, and his moral suasion at your own peril.

    That’s the lesson Military Governor Husaini Abdullahi learned in Bendel (1976-1978) from Mr Iyare’s crusading, when he wanted to turn a secondary school in Benin City into a hotel. Excerpts from my article:

    “Writing in the once-flagship Bendel-owned Nigerian Observer, Iyare held that sustaining the grammar school far outweighed the advantages derivable from turning the complex into a hotel.

    “Closing his article, Iyare stated that should Abdullahi seize the school for commercial purposes, he ‘will not be remembered as Abdullahi the Governor, but Abdullahi the hotelier.’ And that did it! Mr Abdullahi, who retired as Vice-Admiral and died in 2019 at 80, let the grammar school be.

    “The moral here isn’t Abdullahi’s succumbing to public opinion, but the legacy he would’ve left behind had he turned the secondary school buildings into a commercial venture.

    “Coming to the now, what legacy does Godwin Obaseki want to be remembered for after his eight-year tenure in 2024 in Edo State? Is it as Obaseki the Governor or Obaseki the “demolisher”?

    “Mr Obaseki should ponder this, as he embarks on a bulldozing spree of property of his real or imagined enemies.”

    This piece of advice is as relevant – if not more germane – as it’s in March 2021, as the governor’s extended his blitzkrieg to his deputy, who paired with him to qualify to run as governor.

    Obaseki still has 14 months (until late November 2024) in the saddle – time enough to restrategise his style from wanting to show that, “I’m the Governor” (which nobody can drag with him now) to displaying that, “I’m the Father of all Edolites.”

  • ‘I took a vow to support my governor’ – Shaibu apologises to Obaseki

    ‘I took a vow to support my governor’ – Shaibu apologises to Obaseki

    Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, on Thursday apologized to Gov. Godwin Obaseki and reinstating commitment to support his principal.

    Shaibu has been at loggerhead with Gov. Obaseki over his ambition to contest the forthcoming 2024 governorship election.

    The governor has relocated his deputy to another office outside the government house while his media crew has been disbanded.

    Shaibu made the apology while speaking to newsmen shortly after his investiture as the grand patron of the Catholic Men’s Organisation (CMO) of the Catholic Archdioceses of Benin.

    “Like I have always said, I am a loyal servant and there is nothing that has changed. I took a vow to support my governor and that is what I will do. As you can see the Catholic people are here.

    “I can only wish that the relationship we had is sustained. 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 heart and the heart of those that are trying to come in between us to know that I mean well

    “If there is any mistake I have mad, I am just human and did not act out of wickedness because I am not wicked and I have a clean heart,” he said.

    Shaibu called on the governor to forgive him so as to develop the state together with him.

    “I used this medium to appeal to Mr Governor that if there is any mistake I have made or if there was anything wrong that I have done that I do not know of, he should please forgive me so that we can develop our state together.

    “So, Mr. governor if there is anything wrong you feel I have done please, I am sorry, and I need us to work together to finish well and strong because that is my prayer for you,” he added.

    He disclosed that he has resumed in his new office as directed by the governor.

    Earlier, the Catholic Men’s Organization of Nigeria (CMO) of the Archdiocese of Benin City said they came to honour  Shaibu as the Grand Patron of the organization.

    The President of the Archdiocese of Benin CMO, Barr. Austin Odigie, said the decision to honour him was as a result of his commitment to God’s work in the church.

    Odigie said “the Catholic Men’s Organization of the Archdiocese of Benin came to inform you that the Men in church have come to honour you as our Grand Patron.

    “We have seen your commitment to all activities in the church. You have brought yourself low to the level of all of us in the church.

    “You are the only deputy governor who served mass during father’s day celebration. No other deputy governor has been captured serving mass,” he said.

    According to him, the Archbishop of the the Archdiocese of Benin, Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, will personally invest you on September 24 during the first mass.

    Responding, Shaibu thanked the CMO for the honour, adding that he will continue to serve God who has been merciful to him and his family.

    According to Shaibu, “l live my life in God, everything about me is God. When you remember that the life you have does not belong to you, you have no reason not to serve God.”

  • Obaseki and Shaibu deserve each other – By Azu Ishiekwene

    Obaseki and Shaibu deserve each other – By Azu Ishiekwene

    It’s more than one year to the next governorship election in Edo State, which prides itself on being the “heartbeat of the nation”. But in a maelstrom that has forced the state’s heart to beat faster than is good for it, you would be forgiven to think the election is tomorrow.

    The bad blood between Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, is so bitter and so strong it has spilled beyond Osadebe House in Benin, splattering as far as Abuja courts, and daily smearing the front pages of newspapers.

    Reports last week said the governor, fed up of seeing his deputy’s face, is preparing an isolation centre for him in the precincts of the Government House, but far enough to keep him out of sight.

    One cynical way to look at it is to say Shaibu is getting what he deserves for trying to do what Napoleon could not do. In Nigeria’s 24 years of unbroken civilian rule there are few examples of deputy governors who have succeeded their bosses by election, and only two of them – Mahmud Shinkafi (Zamfara); and Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) – did so by mutual consent. The others, whether in Bayelsa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ebonyi, Yobe or Oyo, were either by default or defiance.

    Except Shaibu intends to make his luck, which will not only include raiding the vote bank in Edo South, but also subverting the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) structure in the state, and overthrowing Obaseki’s ego, history is not on his side.

    Making his luck? 

    How can Shaibu make his luck when he is throwing everything into battle at once, the very opposite of Napoleon’s famous manoeuvre sur les derrie ‘res or the strategy of inferiority? He doesn’t even enjoy support in his Edo North home base, where the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) could have thrown him a lifeline.

    Senator Adams Oshiomhole, APC leader in Edo and Shaibu’s former staunch backer, has told him that APC has no room for internally displaced politicians (IDP) in search of a rehabilitation camp. That may sound harsh, but I’m sure that Shaibu knows he deserves his current misery. Loyalty is not a virtue in politics, sadly. But if Oshiomhole is dressing Shaibu down, he has earned the right to do so.

    Of course, Oshiomhole’s snake may have its hand buried in its womb, but it was this man, for all his hubris, that extended a helping hand to Shaibu, a former Prisons Service officer, after an electoral defeat in his early political career in 2003 nearly left him for dead.

    That helping hand, which he would later turn round to bite, was the hand that paved the way for him not only to later become the majority leader in the Edo House of Assembly, but also to represent Estako Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2015.

    According to one account, in the good old days of comradery conviviality, the infernal idea of inaugurating a minority House of Assembly of 10 members in 2019 after which the majority of 14 (APC) were locked out for entire four years was suggested by Shaibu, who was House Leader between 2009 and 2015. It was a coup that benefited all the plotters.

    Yet, however deserving he may be of his current misery, it would be unfair to ignore the circumstances under which Shaibu parted ways with Oshiomhole in 2020. Oshiomhole who was then party chairman of the APC had supervised shambolic primaries in a number of states.

    Things fall apart 

    The primaries in Edo were obviously meant to settle scores with his protegee, Obaseki, who had developed a mind of his own. Shaibu joined the train of “conscientious objectors,” ostensibly led by Obaseki, who were obliged to part ways with the APC, taking refuge under PDP’s umbrella provided by the former Governor Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

    But Obaseki, the other significant party in this pathetic drama playing out in Edo, is a man of infinite contradictions, whose chameleonic gifts are matched only by his ruthless deployment of power. Against the run of fair play, Oshiomhole imposed him as his successor in 2016, in a self-aggrandising bid to copy the Tinubu-Fashola model in Lagos; he being the Tinubu of Edo, and Obaseki, the former stockbroker from Afrivest, Edo’s Fashola.

    The experiment turned out to be a catastrophic fiasco. Barely two years after take-off, the falcon began to defy the falconer and the monster created in the process now threatens not only the creator but also the supplicant who has dared to challenge it.

    Birds of a feather

    Obaseki and Shaibu deserve each other. And Oshiomhole, the father of this incorrigible pair and high priest of their shenanigans, must be sorry at what his experiment has brought upon the people of Edo. In all of this, my heart goes out to the people who must now endure 12 months of a government in disarray, hampered by in-fighting and back-stabbing.

    The deputy governor has been stripped of his responsibilities of monitoring and reporting the collection of Internally Generated Revenue and also benched from supervising the Sports Ministry.

    But it gets even pettier. Shaibu’s sister-in-law, Sabina Chikere, who was until recently permanent secretary of the Sports Ministry, has been redeployed to “Central Administration”, an administrative wasteland. She was lucky not to have been lynched by a politically motivated mob as she tried to retrieve her personal effects from her former office.

    And to asphyxiate his deputy, Obaseki sacked media aides attached to that office in a vendetta straight out of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s playbook during his face-off with Atiku Abubakar.

    A resident, Edosa Okunbo, described the fight as “selfish, shameful and diversionary at a time when the state is bedeviled by bad roads and daily killings by rival cult gangs.” Another resident, Isaac Olamikan, said, “The people will be the worse for this in-fighting.”

    Even as videos of the governor’s convoy stranded in flooded Benin roads trend, there is still something he manages to do well: calling out the Federal Government’s profligacy. How a governor can superintend over a shambles at home, call out Abuja with a straight face, and also win local elections overwhelmingly at the height of his hubris are part of the inexplicable alchemy of Nigeria’s politics. I don’t get it.

    But it doesn’t matter. The emergence of Obaseki in 2016 propped by political heavyweights and supported by some of Nigeria’s high and mighty, including Aliko Dangote, must feel like an investment in junk bonds now. And the governor’s union with Shaibu, must feel like a marriage made in hell.

    I can imagine that folks in Edo Central who have been hard done by over the years must be fancying the clash between Obaseki who is from the South, and Shaibu who is from the North, with extraordinary amusement. It may well be the argument that advances their case for a shot at power in 2024.

    I hope, however, for the sake of the long-suffering people of the state that the governor and his deputy will sheathe the sword, let common sense prevail and serve the people they have sworn to serve for their remaining time in office.

    I have seen what appears to be a letter of rapprochement by the deputy governor addressed to the DSS, the governor and the chief judge, on official letterhead and was pleased that Shaibu still has access to his letterhead. I hope the truce holds. As things are now, apart from the two contenders, the only people profiting from this ego-fest are political opportunists and assorted jobbers.

    Edo people deserve far, far better than being spectators in a pointless, diversionary ego war.

     

  • ‘No IDP camp in APC’, Oshiomole rejects Edo deputy gov, Shaibu

    ‘No IDP camp in APC’, Oshiomole rejects Edo deputy gov, Shaibu

    Sen. Adams Oshiomole (APC-Edo) says the embattled Edo deputy governor, Mr Philip Shaibu is not welcome in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Oshiomole said this in Benin on Thursday when he spoke with newsmen on his reaction to the rumour of Shaibu’s planned defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC due his current rift with Gov. Godwin Obaseki.

    He said that the APC was not a rehabilitation centre for Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs).

    “However, what is happening that you are talking about is only what I read in your newspaper according to the angle you chose to report it and not because you want to report lies but because you don’t know the fact behind the figures.

    “All I can say is that regardless of the party divides, it is my wish for Edo to be governed in peace and harmony because of the super party to which we all belong to, the federal republic of Nigeria.

    “The political parties even the rates of decamping and recamping shows that the only thing that is constant is Nigeria and not the political parties.

    ”To that extent, as someone who has had the rare privilege to be the chief steward at the Osadebay Avenue, it is my wish that this government and even future governments regardless of the political parties, govern in peace,” he said.

    Oshiomole added: “But what I read, if that is what you are referring to about somebody going to court to complain about suspicion of about being impeached, I don’t know how court adjudicate over suspicion, maybe I am a very poor legal student.

    “I don’t know about that but let me say this, to say that somebody wants to run to APC, APC is not a rehabilitation centre.

    “I can tell you that for free. We in APC, we are satisfied the way we are, we are happy in opposition and we are not about to receive people who are coming because they have lost out.

    “No IDP camp in APC.”

    The former national chairman of the APC, however, expressed support for zoning of the state governorship ticket to Edo Central for equity.

  • Things fall apart in Edo as deputy gov sues Obaseki for alleged plot to oust him out of office

    Things fall apart in Edo as deputy gov sues Obaseki for alleged plot to oust him out of office

    Things fall apart in Edo as Comrade Philip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, has submitted an affidavit to the Federal High Court of Nigeria in the Abuja judicial division, levelling serious accusations against the State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

    In the sworn document, Shaibu alleged that Governor Obaseki had deliberately obstructed him from fulfilling his official duties as the Deputy Governor of Edo State, thereby impeding the smooth functioning of the state’s administration.

    Furthermore, in a shocking disclosure, Shaibu accused Governor Obaseki of utilizing the Police and State Security Service to engage in a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and embarrassment directed at him.
    He said that this misconduct by the state’s highest office holder was deeply concerning and raised serious questions about the governance and rule of law in Edo State.

    Not stopping there, Shaibu made another startling claim, asserting that the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly and the Chief Judge of Edo State were allegedly acting in concert with Governor Obaseki to orchestrate his impeachment.

    Such a claim, if substantiated, could have profound implications for the political landscape in the state, potentially leading to a major constitutional crisis.

    In light of these grave allegations, Shaibu urgently sought the court’s intervention to restrain Governor Obaseki and any other individuals allegedly involved from taking any further actions against him.

    The request for an immediate intervention underscores the severity of the situation and highlights the potential threat to the Deputy Governor’s position and political career.

    To emphasize the sincerity and seriousness of his claims, the Deputy Governor made it clear that he was providing these statements in good faith and with a firm belief in their truthfulness.

    By invoking the Oaths Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, Shaibu is seeking to underscore the solemnity and legal significance of his affidavit before the court.

    As this legal battle unfolds, it will undoubtedly attract considerable attention from the public, media, and the legal community alike.

    The outcome of this case could have far-reaching consequences for the political climate in Edo State and may set precedents for the handling of similar cases in the future.

    The court’s decision will be eagerly awaited, as it will ultimately determine the course of action taken against Governor Obaseki and the potential impact on the deputy governor’s position and political standing.

  • Wike, Okowa, Tambuwal, others storm Edo for Obaseki’s second term swearing-in

    Wike, Okowa, Tambuwal, others storm Edo for Obaseki’s second term swearing-in

    Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu on Thursday took their Oath of Office for a second and final term in office.

    The Oath of Office was administered around 12 noon by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Esther Edigin.

    In attendance at the inauguration which took place on Thursday at the Tennis Court of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, were governors of the Peoples Democratic Party including Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, and Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State.

    PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, was also present at the event with some other party officials while Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was represented by a government official.

    Obaseki had defected to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress after he was denied the ruling party’s ticket in the primary election due to intra-party wranglings.

    He later defeated the APC candidate in the September 19, 2020 governorship election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to be re-elected governor of the state.

    Speaking at the inauguration, Obaseki promised to consolidate on his first-term achievements.

    He said, “We will also rapidly develop our critical energy, housing, digital and road Infrastructure, which provides a framework to drive inclusive growth as well as build the economy and drive industrialization, trade and investment, to solidify our state’s status as the choice investment destination in the country.

    “We will preserve the environment and public utilities, to make our state more functional and adapt to the challenges of climate change and rural-urban migration. Our major drive will be the clean and green Edo initiative and sustaining our campaign to plant trees and restore the forest.”