Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of intimidation and harassment.
According to him, Obaseki should have discussed his choice of a successor with him.
Shaibu made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old politician had on Monday officially declared to run for the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Shaibu insisted that despite his not-so-smooth association with his principal, it is his constitutional right to contest the number one office in the state.
The deputy governor said, “He (Obaseki) said I am the type of deputy governor any governor will wish to have. So, what has changed? What has changed simply is that I want to be the governor of Edo State.
“Possibly, maybe he (Obaseki) wants somebody else. In a situation like that, what you do is not intimidation, it is not harassment; you call a family together, you call all of us (aspirants) together and give us reasons why you feel certain things should be. Tell us what you want. You don’t intimidate, you don’t harass.
“If I am governor tomorrow and my deputy wants to contest, he has the right to contest. If I want to support somebody else, I also have the right to support somebody else, not intimidation.
“No conversation and then the next thing is intimidation and harassment, not to somebody that has sacrificed for the government.”
Philip Shaibu during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on November 28, 2023
The PDP governorship aspirant said he won’t cave in to pressure or intimidation but can be won over through engagements and discussions.
“I am someone that can easily give in after engagement but I am not somebody that can give in to intimidation. If I am to give in to intimidation, we won’t have