Philip Shaibu, the former deputy governor of Edo State, announced on Sunday his support for All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo in the upcoming governorship election on September 21.
Shaibu was impeached by the state House of Assembly on April 8 after a protracted conflict with Governor Godwin Obaseki over his succession bid. Speaking at the Fathers’ Day celebration at St. Paul Catholic Church in Benin City, Shaibu praised Okpebholo as the ‘homeboy’ needed to lead Edo State.
Describing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Asue Ighodalo as a product of godfatherism, Shaibu emphasized that such influence had been eradicated from Edo State’s political landscape. He recalled the anti-godfatherism stance promoted by former governor Adams Oshiomhole, which he and Obaseki had supported during the 2020 election.
“I am a very good learner and learning is what is most important in our lives and we must continue to learn till we die. Governor Obaseki says he has the right to support whoever he wants to support but he also forgot that he doesn’t have the right to stop anybody from supporting whoever they want to support. So, it is my right to also decide who I want to support,” Shaibu stated.
Expressing his preference for a local candidate, Shaibu said, “I will support a homeboy. I came into the contest to be governor of Edo State because I needed governance to return to a homeboy, somebody who understands our plight and somebody who understands what the people are feeling.”
He criticized the PDP candidate as an outsider and emphasized the need for a candidate who is deeply connected to the local community. “We have only two homeboys in the major political parties; one is in the Labour Party and one is in the All Progressives Congress. I chose to follow the homeboy in the APC.”
Addressing potential accusations of anti-party activity, Shaibu noted, “It is not anti-party because I know that in the last election, the governor was one leg in the Labour Party and one leg in the PDP, so it can’t be anti-party now.”
Shaibu concluded by endorsing Okpebholo’s qualifications, “Enough of English that takes us nowhere. We are talking about governance, the man who understands the plight of the people. He wears the shoes and knows where it pinches. A man that has never voted, how can he be seeking our vote? And we are comparing him to a man that is a sitting senator who is really a homeboy!”
