Edo state deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, says he was asked to be Godwin Obaseki’s running mate in 2016 to bring political value to the ticket.
Speaking on Friday when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’, Shaibu said Obaseki, the Edo governor, lacked both political experience and financial resources to contest the election.
Both politicians have been embroiled in a rift stemming from their conflicting views on the state’s gubernatorial contest.
“We made Obaseki governor. Obaseki was not a politician, and Obaseki was not financially strong enough to contest the election. Oshiomhole brought him, and when Oshiomhole brought him, some of us argued that it could not be him,” Shaibu said.
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“It took Oshiomhole three months to convince some of our supporters and me to support Obaseki. And when we decided because of Oshiomhole, because of our respect for him, to support him (Obaseki), he did not bring money. We brought our resources and our friends to bring money and we brought our political capital to make him governor.
“He is not the one that made me; I made him. I was asked to be his deputy to add political value because he was not a politician.”
The deputy governor also said that Obaseki has shown Nigerians that he is lawless.
He was reacting to the accusations of impersonation that had been levelled against him by the state government.
In a video posted on his X handle on August 12, Shaibu formally announced his resumption as deputy governor.
Shortly afterwards, the Edo government warned organisations to stop interacting with Shaibu.
