Former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, on Sunday declared support for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Monday Okpebholo.
He described the APC standard bearer as one of the two home boys among the 16 candidates.
The other homeboy, he said, is the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata.
He said the two home boys possess the characteristics to truly move Edo forward.
Shaibu, a former member of the House of Representatives, spoke with reporters at St. Paul Catholic Church on Airport Road, Benin, during the Fathers’ Day celebration.
He described the standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo, Asue Ighodalo, as a product of godfatherism, which, according to him, former Governor Senator Adams Oshiomhole fought against.
He said, “I will support a homeboy. I came in to contest to be the Governor of Edo State because I needed governance to return to a homeboy, somebody who understands our plight, somebody who understands what the people are feeling. Even the United Nations talks about the NEEDS assessment.
“We do not want an outsider. We have experimented with an outsider, and it is not working. So, this time round, we want a homeboy. I came into the contest as a homeboy, but today, we have only two home boys in the major political parties: one is in the LP, and the other is in APC. I decided to follow the homeboy in the APC.
“Asue Ighodalo they are parading in the PDP is an outsider, and we have also agreed that no more godfatherism in Edo. The man PDP is parading is the godson of Governor Godwin Obaseki. There is no way a godson can be governor of Edo State again.
“I am a very good learner. Learning is what is most important in our lives. We must continue to learn till we die. Obaseki says everybody has the right to support whoever he wants to support, but he also forgets that he does not have the right to stop anybody from supporting whoever he wants to support. So, it is my right to also decide who I want to support.”
Shaibu, an ex-president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), also maintained that he cannot be accused of anti-party activity for supporting APC’s governorship candidate while he is still a member of the PDP.
He said: “It is not an anti-party activity. In the last election, Obaseki was one leg in LP, and the other leg in PDP. So, my decision cannot be described as anti-party activity.”
The former Edo Majority Leader maintained that APC’s Okpebholo, a grassroots politician, has the experience, capacity and capability to move the State to the next level.
He said: “Enough of English that takes us nowhere. We are talking about good governance. Okpebholo understands the plight of Edo residents. He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. Asue Ighodalo, who has never voted in any election, how can he be seeking for our votes?
“Why are some people comparing Asue Ighodalo, a Lagos-based lawyer, with Okpebholo, a sitting senator (of Edo Central Senatorial District), who is really a home boy?
“When Olumide Akpata and Okpebholo get home to their people, they will speak their languages, unlike Asue Ighodalo.”
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