A member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, representing the South-South geopolitical zone, Charles Idahosa, said on Wednesday that Governor Godwin Obaseki cannot halt the governorship ambitions of his deputy, Philip Shaibu.

Until a recent truce between the governor and his deputy, both were at loggerheads over Shaibu’s plan to join the 2024 governorship race in the state, while his principal is said to favour a candidate from Edo Central, the zone clamouring to produce the next governor of the state.

This led to the kicking out of Shaibu from his office, and he was relocated to another office outside the Government House, where he remains today as his former office remains locked.

Idahosa said it was obvious that the next step for the deputy governor was to aspire for a higher position, noting that it is not within the right of the governor to stop his deputy from aspiring to a higher position.

He said, “I was disappointed when the rift became public. I was also taken aback by some of the comments of the leaders in Edo State. The major problem we have is weak leadership. What we see here is that people are afraid of telling the truth to power.

“The governor has no right to tell the deputy governor the limit of his political ambition. Obaseki didn’t need to fight Shaibu; the fight was totally uncalled for. What he should have done is sell his candidate to the leaders of the party, who will in turn work for that candidate instead of allowing the issue to degenerate.

“The way deputy governors are being treated in the country, the position will no longer be appealing. After serving as the deputy governor, the next step is to aspire for the position of the governor. So, Shaibu has not done anything wrong.”

Idahosa, a former political adviser to ex- Governor Adams Oshiomhole, also noted that the next governor of the state should be a “homeboy” who is familiar with the terrain, adding that those clamouring for a particular zone to produce the governor should know that there has never been a time in the political history of the state when a zone was given the exclusive right to present the governor.

“When it comes to politics, we need somebody who understands the terrain and who is part and parcel of the people. You don’t go and bring somebody who doesn’t know us. This time, we need somebody who is part and parcel of us,” Idahosa stressed.

Idahosa, who also spoke on the division within the PDP, said, “I just pray the PDP puts its house in order before the election”. (The PUNCH)

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