By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

Edo Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, says he cannot be intimidated out of the Sept.21 governorship election, because he has all its takes to win.

Shaibu, stated this when he returned his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination form for the governorship election, at the party national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.

The deputy governor, who alleged that some elders of the party had been bought over, however, expressed delight that youths and some elders were strongly behind him.

“By the grace of God, our support is organic, it is not procured. I am not an aspirant that is being pushed; I am not an aspirant that is cut off from the people.

“Edo people, the voters know me, they touch me, they feel me. We have already dealt with the issue of godfatherism but it is rearing its ugly head again.

“I am happy that the governor had told us that even if he tries to impose somebody on us as the new godfather, that we should deal with him.

“We are standing on the mandate of the people. My support is organic and with Shaibu, PDP will retain its seat in Edo state,” he said.

Shaibu added: “We started the journey of rescuing Edo state in 2006 and we were conscious of what we wanted to achieve.

“We said that we needed to take our state back and return it to the people and we did take the state back and returned it to the people.

“Along the line, something happened and the state is about to be hijacked again and we said no.

“This election is another challenge, they want to take the state from Edo people and return it to Businessmen and we are saying no because Edo state cannot return to Egypt.”

“Edo state will continually move forward and the only way it can move forward is if power resides with the people.

“PDP says Power to the People, and not power to business friends or business colleagues”.

Shaibu said he was in the race not because or any inordinate ambition, but for his desire to save Edo from businessmen who wanted to take over the state.

“We have already dealt with the issue of godfatherism but it is rearing its ugly head again.

“I am happy that the governor had told us that even if he tries to impose somebody on us as the new godfather, that we should deal with him.

Shaibu expressed confidence that if given PDP’s ticket, there would be massive movement of people to the party, adding that PDP would not only win the election, Edo would be made a reference point in Nigeria.

He said that he had already developed a blueprint of what he wanted to do when elected the state governor.

“I have set up a committee already on what we are going to do. I understand the feeling of the people.

“We already have our plans on what we are going to do,” he said.

At the party secretariat, PDP Deputy National Organising Secretary, Pascal Adigwe, while acknowledging Shaibu’s his record of achievements, urged him and other PDP aspirants to embrace peace in the pursuit of their ambition.

“We know you as we know others. It is our hope and belief that in this race, you will run it well. We are only begging, let there be peace.

“Let us go into the primary and ultimately the election, putting peace in front.

“You know that we are not scared of the other side of peace but please let us go peacefully.

“Secondly, let us consider the wishes of the people we want to govern, how do they want to be governed and we can craft our aspirations and ambitions around what the people wants.

“Thirdly, extra commitment, extra unity of purpose, extra struggle cannot be over emphasised. So, we are begging, hold our party strong,” he said.

He added: “You are not new in contesting election; we are not new in encountering you.

“So, you know what to do and you know that in the elections that you have contested in the past, you have always won, meaning that someone has also always lost and the person didn’t die.

“So, elections can be won or lost depending on how God wants it.

“All I am asking is, you win you stay, you lose you stay.” (NAN)

•Edo Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu submitting his PDP forms at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja

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