If elected governor of the state in 2024, the deputy governor pledged to provide effective governance.
In a live broadcast on Monday, he stated as much, announcing his intention to run for Edo governor.
The election is scheduled for September 21, as announced earlier by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“I just want to appreciate all of you. We have started the journey and I decided together with all of us that after the consultation, we needed to make the answer to our consultation known to Edo people and the answer is clear.
“They (Edo people) have asked me to go and run and they said I am the one they see not just as a street boy but original own boy that can live there.
“I can assure you that by the grace of God, we will deliver practical governance,” he said.
The governorship aspirant talked about his achievements while he served as a House of Assembly member before he became a federal lawmaker at the House of Representatives.
Shaibu who promised to strengthen the agricultural sector vowed to continue where Obaseki stopped in the execution of projects across the state and promised to “hit the ground running.”
Shaibu was scheduled to make his announcement at the Eterno Hotel, but some of the state governor’s loyalists took control of the establishment and scheduled an event there as well.
The Philip Shaibu Campaign Organization sent a letter dated November 23 and signed by the deputy governor, outlining the deputy governor’s intention to declare on Monday.
The letter which was titled ‘Special Invitation,’ read, “On behalf of Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu Campaign Organisation, I invite you to honour me with your esteemed presence as I offer myself to serve as the Chief Servant (Governor) of Edo State.”
Shaibu’s ambition has put him at loggerheads with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is believed not to be disposed to his deputy taking over from him.
At the height of the face-off, Shaibu approached an Abuja High Court to stop Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly from impeaching him.
He later withdrew the case after the intervention of well-meaning individuals.
However, Shaibu remains ostracised and currently has his office outside the Government House in the GRA in Benin, the state capital.
Shaibu has been consulting and meeting with politicians and the media on his intention.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja last Saturday, Shaibu said he wanted to succeed Obaseki because, “Edo people are in dire need of practical governance and we cannot afford to experiment again with someone who does not understand the politics and needs of Edo State.”
He added, “Everywhere, including the international scene, people are clamouring that governments should not be pushing projects that are not needed. So, we need to do needs assessment. You cannot know the needs of the people when you don’t live with them.
“For me, competence and experience should be the watchword. Who is competent, more experienced and who will hit the ground running from day one if he becomes governor?
“Are we going to experiment with a new person again and the person will spend the first four years learning on the job and the next four years trying to embezzle and set up businesses in the name of consolidating on his first term?”
