Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has mocked Governor Godwin Obaseki following the Peoples Democratic Party loss in the 2024 governorship election, particularly the PDP losing in the governor’s local government area.
Shaibu, during an interview with Arise TV on Monday, expressed his satisfaction over the election results, claiming that they vindicated him against those who doubted his political strength.
“I feel vindicated; even the governor couldn’t win his local government. I won my unit, ward, and local government. Where are the governor’s results? He has never won; we always assisted him,” Shaibu stated during the interview.
Shaibu, who has had a strained relationship with Obaseki in recent months, further clarified that he holds no personal grudge against the outgoing governor but suggested that Obaseki should apologise to the people of Edo State.
“What is left now is for him to go back and start begging and apologizing to the people of Edo State and he has a lot of them that he needs to go and apologize to,” Shaibu added.
The comments came after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Edo State governorship election. Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes, while Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party finished third with 22,763 votes.
Obaseki notably lost his Oredo Local Government Area to the APC, an outcome Shaibu pointed to as further validation of his political stance.
The governorship race had been closely contested, with Okpebholo ultimately emerging victorious, signaling a shift in political power within the state.