Governor Godwin Obaseki has explained why he could not risk backing his former deputy, Philip Shaibu to succeed him as the governor of Edo State.
The Edo governor said the political permutations in the South-South state did not favour Shaibu to take over from him.
Obaseki stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
Recall that Shaibu and Obaseki were at the crossfire over the former’s Edo State governorship ambition.
The former deputy governor was later impeached by the Edo State House of Assembly for allegedly leaking government information.
Speaking on the matter, Obaseki said, “For me, I did not understand where the ambition was coming from because it was clear that the odds were not in his favour in terms of succeeding me and I made it very clear.
“So, I could not take any risk on his ambition because I have to protect the Edo people. So, I could not take that risk on Edo people.”
Shaibu had described the development as an attack on the country’s democracy, in the wake of his impeachment.
In a social media video post, Shaibu said, “This is not just an attack on me as an individual but on the democracy that we hold dear.
“It is a dangerous descent into dictatorship and a threat to the foundation of our democracy. Let it be clear that this impeachment was hatched;
Shaibu and the place of Deputy Governors
“…because of my ambition to contest the Edo State 2024 governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. An ambition that is a legal right to all citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
