- Shaibu’s suit based on speculation, —Edo Chief Judge
- Obaseki denies knowledge of D/Gov’s ambition to succeed him
- Edo Speaker refutes impeachment plot
EDO State governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday accused his deputy, Philip Shaibu, of carrying out a coup against him, even as the state’s second citizen appeared to have beaten a retreat in his stand off with the governor.
Shaibu, who only last week filed a suit at a Federal High Court, Abuja, to restrain his principal and the State House of Assembly from impeaching him, declared yesterday that he would ‘sink and swim’ with the governor.
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Obaseki told elders and leaders from Etsako West, East and Central Local Government Areas at a meeting in Shaibu’s hometown of Jattu in Etsako West LGA that Shaibu had become so desperate for power that he would plot a coup against the government of which he is part.
The meeting was part of the campaign ahead of next months’ local government election.
He said: “My deputy has become so desperate to take over, and he is ready to do anything, including carrying out a coup d’etat to ensure that he kicks me out, and become the governor of Edo State.
“What struck me was his action after the proclamation of the 8th Edo State House of Assembly, and preparing to elect officers in the House. He was in Abuja, and came back that day. I am the Chief Security Officer of the state, I get any information I need, but keep quiet about it and use that information quietly.
“My deputy called a leader in the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), telling him that during the election of Speaker of the House of Assembly the next day (June 16, 2023), that he has five loyal members, and that he would like the eight members of the APC in the House to work with him, to produce the Speaker. I called the PDP members to my house to familiarise myself with them, following this information. Shaibu tried to barge in. I said you could not come into my house. It’s my private house, not even the Government House. You have to have the courtesy, but now it’s my prerogative to allow you in or out.
“After hearing what he did, I did not allow him to come in. The next day, we went to Edo House of Assembly, and he came, and we elected our Speaker. What he (Shaibu) did is not working in the interest of the party. How can he have a different candidate besides what the governor wants?”
He recalled the efforts he made to ensure that Shaibu retained his position as deputy governor, after the two of them defected from the APC to PDP on June 19, 2020, ahead of that year’s governorship election.
He said: “Remember the unfortunate incident that made a lot of you to leave with me from the other party (APC)? When that problem started, I told you, and you said wherever I went, you would go with me. As one family fighting injustice, we went to PDP, and many of the leaders in unity said Obaseki must return.
“In that process, I insisted that for me to be governor, Philip Shaibu must be my deputy, and never allowed any negotiation on that stand. If you want me to serve as governor of Edo State, it must be me and my deputy.
“But you have had my deputy say many times that he escorted me to PDP, and many times we have challenges in integrating into the PDP platform, but since we started, I learned to give people responsibilities, because of my background, to enable us to build institutions, rather than individuals.
“In anything I am doing, I am open to the Secretary to Edo State Government, SSG, and my deputy, and I give them responsibilities. When I went on vacation, I handed over power to my deputy. He called me while on vacation on some issues, but I told him that he was in charge, urging him to go ahead, and make mistakes, and that when I would be back, we would correct them together.
“I am an individual, and anything that happens to me, Edo State must continue, as there is no vacuum in power. We worked as a trio and everybody must know what one another was doing, and that could only be possible if there was absolute trust that the person would not go back to betray you.
“That’s how we ran Edo State in the last seven years, facing crises, but we cannot continue to live in crises. At some point, we look for peace.
“The election that brought us in was a difficult one for us in Edo North Senatorial District, and after the election, I felt it was time to correct the mistakes made in the election. In all, I trusted him (Shaibu) to manage everything, including appointments, asking him to talk to leaders and make me know what they wanted. Even contracts, I left for him to preside over, and look at how we felt in the election.”
He said the deputy governor mismanaged the PDP in Edo North such that the party could not produce any member from the area into the state House of Assembly.
He said: “Today, PDP does not have one member in Edo State House of Assembly from Etsako (in Edo North Senatorial District), and this has never happened before. In my background, if you are given responsibility and you fail, we change you immediately, but I did not do that. Rather, I decided to continue to manage the situation.
“Local government elections came, and the same thing happened. I called on him (Shaibu) severally, to settle issues in Edo North Senatorial District, but everywhere we went, it was trouble and crises, and we could not run a party (PDP) like that. I did not react, but continued managing the party.
“We came to chairmanship, and the problems continued. First, it was in Owan and then Akoko-Edo (both in Edo North Senatorial District) followed. In Akoko-Edo, the people said this was the person they wanted, but my deputy said no, this was who he wanted, but I insisted that he must give the people the person that they wanted. After consultations, I insisted that he should allow the people to have their way, and lead.
“The Constitution (1999, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended), made me the governor of Edo State, and gives me the powers of the governor, and I know the powers of the governor. The constitution never provides for a co-governor. It provides for a deputy governor, who carries out the responsibilities the governor gives to him, but does not give the deputy the power of the governor.
“He (Shaibu) went to Abuja, and did not tell me, only for me to see him on social media and television, as the video was all over the place. He was going around, boasting to leave the party.
“Before now, he (Shaibu) was going around, saying he was consulting. We had a meeting, and I urged them to ensure we finish strong, as whatever we do now, will help us to sell who will succeed me. I charged them to all come together to solidify the party, as PDP will produce the next governor of Edo State.
“I took an interest in the local government election so that we could consolidate, and unify our party (PDP). Issues were out during the nomination and everywhere I went, there were already camps for the deputy governor, but I told him I had not finished my term as governor, he should allow me to finish. But he has never come to me to tell me he wants to contest.
“He told me he was going on holiday, and I approved it for him as usual. He did not tell me he was travelling, but the next thing I saw was a court summons, that he wanted to be impeached. I called the Speaker (of Edo House of Assembly), to find out from him, but he said there was nothing like that going on. But what bothers me is for him (Shaibu) to swear an affidavit that we stopped him from coming into EXCO (weekly Executive Council meeting at the Government House, GRA, Benin City). This is wrong information from a public officer.
“I am not angry, but disappointed, because there is nothing to life, as God alone gives power. I do not have the power to say who will succeed me, but only have a say. The person you are apologising for, has not told you he did anything wrong, as the first thing is to get your son to first agree that he has done something wrong. I cannot stay without defending myself in court. If he is really ready and shows remorse, we will look at the situation.”
A PDP’s leader in Etsako, Chief Ogedegbe Bitrus, disclosed that the meeting was called by the leaders and elders of Etsako to appreciate Obaseki for his developmental strides across Edo State, noting that they were not in support of the deputy governor’s actions.
I’ll swim or sink with Obaseki, says Shaibu
However, Shaibu appeared to be singing a different tune yesterday on his face off with Obaseki, just a week after alleging a plot by the governor to get him impeached by the State House of Assembly, and approaching a Federal High Court, Abuja to stop the alleged plot.
The Edo deputy governor in a statement by his media aide Musa Ebhomiana yesterday said he would ‘sink and swim’ with the governor.
He denied reports that he was on his way back to the All Progressives Congress (APC) which he and Obaseki dumped in 2020 after losing out in the party’s governorship primaries ahead of that year’s election.
The reports had suggested that the deputy governor would be received by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) next week.
But Ebhomiana dismissed as false the social media story entitled “Why I Haven’t Discussed Rift With Obaseki to Anyone’.
He said: “The question here for the discerning minds is that, is it the NWC of a party that receives a decampee into the party? Shaibu has never minced words, vowing to sink and swim with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki.
“This, he has said severally at public fora. In view of this, I plead with these characters bent on driving a wedge between Comrade Philip Shaibu and his boss, Governor Godwin Obaseki to put the Edo project and the people far above their own selfish interest.
“I wish to place on record that the Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu has been on annual vacation, he has not granted any interview and he has not authorized anybody to speak for him to either online or any traditional news medium.
“I am able to speak for myself. I have not authorized anybody to speak for me and I have not granted any press interviews. The statement credited to me is fake. In view of this, I wish to admonish discerning members of the public to be wary of mischief makers, especially at this time.”
‘Shaibu’s suit based on speculation,’ Edo Chief Judge
The Chief Judge (CJ) of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, a defendant in the suit filed by Shaibu on the alleged plot to impeach him, has told the court that the allegation is rooted on mere speculation.
Besides, Justice Okungbowa said it was impossible, under the law, for Shaibu to stop any move by the state’s House of Assembly to impeach him by going to court.
The CJ, in his response to the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2027/2023, said Shaibu failed to state whether or not he (the CJ) “has made a move to constitute a panel for his imagined removal in this suit.”
He added: “The plaintiff/applicant’s grouse/cause of action in the substantive suit is his apprehension that he might be removed from his office of the Deputy Governor.
“The exercise of removal of an individual from office of the Deputy Governor is a constitutional exercise. This exercise is an inviolate right of the 4th defendant (the Speaker).
“Even if this exercise is being undertaken by the 4th defendant/respondent (which is not admitted), the said undertaking cannot be questioned by any court in this country.
“Even if any court will have to intervene or interfere, such judicial act will only be done to the conclusion of the exercise and not when same is imminent or is yet to commence.
“Even if any court will have to intervene at the due time, the Edo State High Court is the most competent to undertake such intervention.”
In his own response, Gov. Obaseki said he “is not aware of any declaration of interest by the plaintiff/applicant (Shaibu) of the plaintiff/applicant’s intention to contest for the post of the Governor of Edo State.
“No expression of interest and nomination forms have been made available by the People’s Democratic Party and/or submitted by the plaintiff/applicant to the People’s Democratic Party.”
Obaseki added that he “never and could never harbour(ed) any displeasure at the political aspiration of the Plaintiff/Applicant to become an aspirant to the post of Governor of Edo State.”
The Governor faulted Shaibu’s claim that he (Shaibu) was being denied opportunity to perform his official responsibilities, stating that the decision to centralise the management of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was to improve on performance.
Obaseki added that neither he “nor anybody under his control or administration has excommunicated the plaintiff/applicant, who still is the Deputy Governor of Edo State.
“The plaintiff/applicant, as the Deputy Governor of Edo State, was at the EXCO meeting of 19th of July 2023 and was absent on the 2nd of August 2023 though the plaintiff/applicant was invited and aware that EXCO holds meetings on Wednesdays.
“The plaintiff/applicant was sent notice for the inauguration/swearing in of the new EXCO of the State which held on the 13th of June 2023, the plaintiff/applicant failed to attend the said inauguration.”
The Governor added that he later discovered that Shaibu “was in Abuja to honour a personal invitation to events in Abuja without prior notice to him as the Governor of the state.”
On his part, the Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku equally faulted Shaibu’s claims, stating that he has never stopped the Deputy Governor or colluded with anyone in stopping him from acting in his official capacity.
Agbebaku denied being aware of any impeachment plot and is “not behind any spurious allegation against the plaintiff/applicant.”
The Governor, Speaker and the Chief Judge want the court to dismiss the suit for being speculative and want of jurisdiction.
Shaibu is expected to file his reply before the next adjourned date of August 22.
Other defendants in the suit are: The Inspector General of Police (IGP), the State Security Service (SSS) and the Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly.
The court had on Friday August 4 restrained Obaseki, the speaker, and other parties in the suit from initiating impeachment moves against Shaibu.