On Wednesday, Philip Shaibu, the deputy governor of Edo State, revealed that he had been convinced to join Governor Godwin Obaseki as his running partner.
Shaibu claimed he was brought in to boost Obaseki’s political standing after he and the governor had a falling out over his bid for the upcoming 2024 governorship race.
When answering questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show, the deputy governor made this statement.
He claims that convincing him to accept the deputy governorship took about a month.
“First, I was persuaded. Actually, I didn’t want to be the deputy governor. I was very comfortable in the House of Representatives. I was persuaded. It took almost one month to persuade me to accept to be the deputy governor of Edo state. And so there were no protests, it was persuasion.
“Then my supporters and others said, ‘look you have to be there’, and i accepted. Why? To add value to Obaseki’s ticket because Obaseki wasn’t known, and he wasn’t one of the politicians.
“They needed a young vibrant politician that has won election before and that can add political value to the ticket. I was actually persuaded to accept.”