By DADA AYOKHAI
Embattled Edo State deputy governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu is set to formally declare his ambition for the Edo State governorship race on a Monday.
The PDP primary to produce the party’s flag bearer for the Edo 2024 governorship election is scheduled for February next year .
The letter of invitation for the unveiling event are already in circulation to top party stalwarts and other dignitaries who are expected to grace the declarations .
The deputy governor, Hon. Shaibu personally signed the invitation cards .
Borderline News 24 saw a glimpse of the invitation letter which reads thus
The letter was titled ‘Special Invitation,’ read, “On behalf of Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu Campaign Organisation, I invite you to honour me with your esteemed presence as I offer myself to serve as the Chief Servant (Governor) of Edo State.”
The event is scheduled to be held on Monday, November 27, at the Eterno Hotels, by 8 a.m.
Shaibu’s ambition has put him at loggerheads with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is believed not to be disposed to his deputy taking over from him.
Hon. Shaibu and his principal, Gov. Godwin Obaseki are currently engaged in a fierce battle of wits over who succeeds the latter at the expiration of his tenure next year
The deputy governor fired the first salvo when he dragged the governor and the state Assembly before the court to forestall any attempt aimed at impeaching him
As a reprisal, Gov. Obaseki stripped his deputy of all the perks of office he used to enjoy, including access to him.
As the conflict later degenerated, the office of the deputy governor was moved from the Government House to the vicinity , a development Hon. Shaibu tried to resist but somehow later caved in.
At the height of the crisis between the two, Hon. Shaibu was, according to him, prevailed upon to withdraw the court case, by those he claimed to have utmost respect for
Borderline News 24 attempt to gather a list of the Edo political leaders who may likely grace the declaration ceremony was futile.
Mum was the watchword as the political leaders refused to disclose if they would attend the Benin version of the declaration
Penultimate week, Hon. Shaibu had declared his intention to contest the Edo 2024 governorship ticket at a hotel in Abuja
Political watchers quickly labeled him a “coward” for choosing to run to a haven to announce his bid for the coveted number one post in the state.
Perhaps, to correct the wrong impression his earlier declaration may have elicited, the deputy governor has chosen Benin, the political capital of the state, to make a bold statement about his vaunting ambition to succeed his principal
