I remain loyal to my governor, says Shaibu •Denies rift with Obaseki

TNT Newsline September 14, 2021

By IGNATIUS IGWE

Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has denied having any rift with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki.

While featuring as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, he denied any disagreement between him and the governor and restated his unalloyed loyalty to the latter.

“I am happy with my governor; I don’t have any problem with my governor,” said the deputy governor who is rumoured of planning to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“So, the issue of not being happy with my governor is not there. I remain absolutely loyal to my governor.”

When asked what went wrong with the PDP on whose platform he was re-elected into office, Shaibu admitted there were some issues within the ruling party in the state.

“There are issues we need to resolve over PDP,” he said, although he did not categorically state whether he would leave the party or not.

The deputy governor’s remarks come amid reports that he had purportedly concluded arrangements to dump the PDP for an undisclosed party, as a result of a rift over matters bothering on the running of the state.

He was said to have held a series of meetings with some party bigwigs outside the country last week where the supposed plans were finalised.

But the Chief Press Secretary of the Deputy Governor, Ebomhiana Musa, denied the reports in a statement on Monday, saying they were mere speculations.

According to Musa, claims that Shaibu plans to leave the PDP are complete falsehood and the figment of the authors’ imagination.

Governor Obaseki, with Shaibu as the running mate, first contested the governorship election in the state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and won, defeating Mr Osagia Ize-Iyamu who was the PDP candidate at the time.

Four years into office, the governor and his deputy sought to be re-elected in the September 2020 election and won again.

In what can be described as a dramatic turn, they defeated Ize-Iyamu who had later joined the APC while they ran on the PDP platform, following a disagreement with the former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. (Channels TV)