Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, after making it clear he does not want the deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, to succeed him, has pleaded with a traditional ruler in the state to support him to produce a “worthy” successor.
The governor will exit office in November after completing his second term.
Mr Obaseki, on Tuesday, was at Mr Shaibu’s hometown Auchi Kingdom, the headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area of the state, for the 27th Annual Auchi Day celebration, where he made the appeal to the Otaru of Auchi, Aliru Momoh, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.
Mr Shaibu hails from the Etsako West council area.
Governor Obaseki, who was represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Humanitarian Affairs in the state, Dada Abubakar, urged the monarch and the community to cooperate with him “to finish well and strong”, adding that his administration has achieved a lot for the community.
“I implore you to support us to produce a worthy successor, who will make Edo the best in the country.
“As a government, we have achieved a lot in Auchi Sacred Kingdom with the Auchi Central Hospital upgrade to a Specialist Hospital,” Mr Obaseki said.
The governor donated some money for the community sanitation project.
The relationship between Messrs Obaseki and Shaibu, two former political allies, has soured because of the latter’s ambition to contest in the 21 September governorship election in the state.
Meanwhile, Mr Shaibu has described as “null and void” the meeting of Edo North PDP leaders which resulted in the adoption of Asue Ighodalo as the preferred candidate of the party ahead of the governorship primary.
The meeting, which Mr Shaibu said was a “slight on his person and Office as a sitting Deputy Governor of the State,” was held at the instance of Mike Oghiadomhe, a former deputy governor of the state, Vanguard newspaper reported.
Mr Shaibu, while addressing a crowd of supporters in his country home, Jattu, Etsako West Local Government Area shortly after the Auchi Day Annual Celebration, said the meeting did not hold as far as he is concerned.
“Chief Oghiadomhe could not allow such a thing to happen when he was in office as deputy governor and as a leader of Edo North.
“PDP is a party of structure and of hierarchy well defined in its Constitution. I plead with all of you to remain calm and not be provoked by this action because after the primaries, we need to come together as members of the PDP, so, we will need everybody to win the main election in September,” Mr Shaibu said.
Mr Shaibu said the former deputy governor was “trying to provoke us, but we will remain calm because this project is not about Philip Shaibu, it is God’s own project.”
“You all saw what happened at the Otaru’s palace today. It was very clear that God has a hand in this project.”
Asue Ighodalo, a Lagos-based lawyer, hails from Ewohimi in Esan South-east Local Government Area of Edo Central District, an area that Governor Obaseki wants power to shift to.
Mr Obaseki hails from Edo South District, while his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole (now Senator) hails from Edo North, same with Mr Obaseki’s deputy – Mr Shaibu.
Mr Ighodalo, who is not popular in Edo politics, had told his kinsmen in December last year that he has been a member of the Edo Economic Team constituted by Mr Oshiomhole since 2008.
Governor Obaseki, who was the chairperson of the Economic Team before succeeding Mr Oshiomhole as governor in 2016, may have returned to the same team to “pick” his successor.
Mr Ighodalo has repeatedly described himself as a “true Esan boy,” but could not speak the Esan Language, a development that forced him to hire an interpreter while addressing his kinsmen, the Nation newspaper reported.
