The former Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, on Sunday, declared his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the September 21 election in the state, Monday Okpebholo.
Shaibu, who was impeached in April following a dispute with Governor Godwin Obaseki over his succession bid, spoke at a Father’s Day celebration in Benin City.
He said Okpebholo embodies the qualities of a “homeboy” needed to lead Edo State effectively.
The former deputy governor described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, as a product of godfatherism which he claimed had been eradicated from Edo State’s political landscape.
Shaibu praised former Governor Adams Oshiomhole for championing the fight against godfatherism and revealed that he had learnt valuable political strategies from Governor Obaseki during their battle against godfatherism in the 2020 election.
READ ALSO:Court adjourns Shaibu’s suit challenging impeachment to June 28
He said: “I am a very good learner and learning is what is most important in our lives and we must continue to learn till we die. Governor Obaseki says he has the right to support whoever he wants to support but he also forgot that he doesn’t have the right to stop anybody from supporting whoever they wants to support. So, it is my right to also decide who I want to support.
“I will support a homeboy. I came into the contest to be governor of Edo State because I needed governance to return to a homeboy, somebody who understands our plight and somebody who understands what the people are feeling.
“We don’t want an outsider. We have experimented with an outsider and it is not working, so this time, we want a homeboy. We have only two home boys in the major political parties; one is in the Labour Party and one is in the All Progressives Congress.
“I chose to follow the homeboy in the APC. The man they are parading in the PDP is an outsider and we have also agreed that no more godfatherism in Edo. The man the PDP is parading is the godson of Obaseki and there is no way a godson can be governor of Edo State again.”
The post ‘A homeboy needed to lead Edo effectively,’ Shaibu endorses APC’s Okpebholo ahead of guber poll appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.