On Sunday, security personnel, including heavily armed policemen, sealed off the office of Edo State’s Deputy Governor on Osadebe Avenue, Benin City, intensifying the ongoing standoff between Philip Shaibu and Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The deputy governor’s office, which had been relocated from the Government House earlier due to the escalating tensions, now sits under tight security. The office’s main entry gate remained firmly shut, with a police truck stationed outside, armed with a mounted machine gun and flanked by three officers.
By Friday, staff at the deputy governor’s office had been directed to report to the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), and official vehicles, including the press crew bus, were transferred to the Office of the Head of Service located inside the Government House compound.
Speaking on the relocation, one of the office staff remarked, “We were informed on Thursday to start reporting to JOOPSA, and that’s where we resumed on Friday. We’ll continue at the same place tomorrow (Monday).”
This development further signals the heightening tension between Shaibu and the governor, with no clear resolution.
