Former deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, announced on Sunday his support for Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, in the upcoming governorship election scheduled for September 21, Glide News reports.
Shaibu, who was impeached by the state House of Assembly on April 8 after a prolonged conflict with Governor Godwin Obaseki over his succession bid, voiced his support for Okpebholo, describing him as the 'homeboy' necessary to lead Edo State.
Speaking to journalists during the Fathers’ Day celebration at St Paul Catholic Church in Benin City, Shaibu expressed his views on the political dynamics in Edo State. He criticized the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, as a product of godfatherism, a practice Shaibu claimed has been eradicated from Edo's political history.
Shaibu emphasized the importance of learning in political life and expressed his determination to support a candidate who understands the local issues and the people's needs. "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," he stated.
Shaibu elaborated on his reasons for supporting Okpebholo, highlighting his local roots and deep understanding of the people's plight. He argued that an 'outsider' has been tried and found lacking, making a local candidate more desirable this time. "We don’t want an outsider. We have experimented with an outsider and it is not working, so this time, we want a homeboy," he asserted.
Regarding potential accusations of anti-party activities, Shaibu dismissed such concerns by pointing out the governor's previous dual allegiance to both the Labour Party and the PDP. "No, 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," he explained.
Shaibu concluded by emphasizing Okpebholo's capacity for governance, criticizing the PDP candidate's lack of voting history and contrasting it with Okpebholo’s active political role as a sitting senator. "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," he said. "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!"
For more updates, stay tuned to Glide News.
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