Obaseki has never won election on his own — Philip Shaibu reacts as APC wins Edo Guber Election
Obaseki has never won election on his own — Philip Shaibu reacts as APC wins Edo Guber Election
Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has stated that the outcome of the recently concluded governorship election confirms his belief that Governor Godwin Obaseki lacks popularity.
Speaking on Monday during an interview with Arise TV, Shaibu claimed that Obaseki has never won an election on his own merit, emphasising that his victories have always relied on external support.
Shaibu, who had a fallout with Obaseki over his 2024 gubernatorial ambitions, backed the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APC’s Senator Monday Okpebholo the winner of the election on Sunday, with 291,667 votes, defeating Obaseki’s preferred candidate, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 247,274 votes.
Reacting to the results, Shaibu expressed feeling “vindicated” and stated that Obaseki should have learned from the outcome.
He urged the governor to apologise to the people of Edo, particularly those he had removed from his administration.
Shaibu said: “I thank God for it. I am water and I don’t have an enemy. Those who unfortunately decided that I am their enemy, I have always prayed for them to live long and see how God’s miracles continue to work in my life.
“I am a team player and somebody that likes to do my work the way it is and if I make a mistake, it is a human mistake and not out of envy or wickedness.
“Yesterday, I was so excited and I am happy that I’m counted among the numbers that helped the APC to regain the seat.
“I have also been able to cancel that negative impression that Shaibu does not win his ward. It is a lie because I have never lost my ward or unit. The highest votes came from my unit.
“Even the governor could not win his Local Government. I won, I won my unit, which is number one now, and I won my ward and LG which is also number one. I took first from unit to LG.
“Where are the governor’s results? He has never won, we only assist him but unfortunately, he got the power and started kicking us out.
“It is very unfortunate and I hope he learns his lessons. What is less for him now is to go back and apologize to the people of Edo State and there are a lot of them that he needs to apologize to.”
