Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shaibu, who recently defected to All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday, said the fight against his impeachment was to protect the office of deputy governor in Nigeria.
Shaibu spoke to journalists after a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, where he said his reinstatement by the court was an act of God. He said the office of the deputy governor had been ridiculed by some governors since 1999.
The deputy governor said he wanted the federal government and the Inspector General of Police to investigate the killing of a policeman while on his way from the airport. He stated that the officer was an orderly to the governorship candidate of APC, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
Shaibu said regarding Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, “The governor said he will destroy me and that is why I decided that the office of the deputy governor of Edo State, I will fight to make sure that sanity and respect is brought back to that office.
“All these I am doing is not to earn anything but to make sure that the sanity of the office of the deputy governor is restored in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What other deputies cannot fight, I will fight on their behalf so that governors will start respecting that office.”
On his victory in court, Shaibu said, “I challenged God and I told Him that I want him to prove His power in my life, that people who are anti-God and anti-democracy are at it again and they want to use me as scapegoat. I told God to show to the world that I am truly His son.
“They said they will impeach me and I will go to court and that by the time judgement will come the tenure would have been over. I now challenged God to it, to prove to them that they have touched His anointed and that the judgement will come faster than expected, I said I will need the judgement to come before the election.
“By the grace of God, democracy has come to stay and we that fought for democracy will protect it. Anti-democratic forces must be flushed out and, by the grace of God, we will succeed.”
Shaibu said ahead of the coming governorship election in the state, the youth should not allow themselves to be used for violence, but should vote to remove “anti-democratic people”.
He stated, “This election is the time to change anti-democratic forces and you must do it through the ballot. Don’t engage in violence. I have been preaching this for the past year when the intimidation and harassment against me started.”
Adibe Emenyonu
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