Barring any last-minute change of mind by Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, a former member of Edo House of Assembly (1999 – 2003), Pascal Ugbomhe, has been tipped to replace the state’s Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, till November 12, 2024, when his second term will end.
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Ugbomhe, also an Etsako man as Shaibu, is a frontline member of the Chief Dan Orbih-led Legacy Coalition in Edo chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with his choice being to get the support of the party’s National Vice Chairman, Southsouth (Orbih), and his teeming supporters, ahead of the September 21, 2024 governorship election.
It was also learnt yesterday in Benin by our reporter that Obaseki wouldn’t want to take chances in Edo North Senatorial District, which has as representative, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is an ex-governor of Edo state.
Ugbomhe, who hails from Ekperi in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo, according to a source close to Obaseki, would ensure victory for PDP’s governorship candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, in Edo North senatorial district, thereby reducing the influence of Oshiomhole and Shaibu, since Ighodalo is from Edo Central with the least voting strength, and his running mate, Osarodion Ogie, is an indigene of Benin Kingdom in Edo South, with the highest voting strength.
Ugbomhe, a Law graduate of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), who is a former Chairman of Etsako Central Local Government Council, according to the permutation in Obaseki’s camp, would be able to convince the preferred governorship aspirant of legacy coalition, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, an influential former member of the House of Representatives, to also support Ighodalo’s aspiration, thereby ensuring unity and peace in Edo PDP.
The Justice Stephen Omonua (rtd.)-led seven-member probe panel, put in place by Edo Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, on March 25 this year, to probe the allegations levelled against Shaibu, rounded off its three-day sitting on Friday, and would soon submit its report to Justice Okungbowa, for the state’s 24 lawmakers to proceed or not, with Shaibu’s removal.
