Philip Shaibu, a former deputy governor of Edo State, claims that Monday Okpebholo, the current governor of the state, has already accomplished something noteworthy in his 100 days in office.
He claims that Okpebholo has been able to seek assistance from the federal government, something that neither he nor former Governor Godwin Obaseki did while in office.
Shaibu, on Wednesday, claimed that bringing the Federal Government to Edo State would free up funds for additional projects in the state.
“The clever thing the governor (Okpebholo) has done which I applaud him for and which we didn’t do is the ability to go to the centre and woo the centre for support,” Shaibu said.
“And the support coming from the centre will free the state’s resources for other developments. That is what he is cleverly doing, and I think that will help him to develop fast.”
He said that the administration of Obaseki which he served under also wanted to do good things but claimed that political interest came in along the line.
He added that with his experience in government, he now encourages everyone to pray for the leaders because if the governor fails the state fails.
“Every government, even our own government, it was clear that we wanted to do good things and everything but along the line politics and interests came in.”
“That is why I consistently without mincing words, each time I say support Okpebholo, I followed it up with please also pray for him, so that things that make one to change and now become something negative not be in his own time,” he said.
Former friends Shaibu and Obaseki had a falling out before the governorship election on September 21, 2024, and the former later rejoined the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ultimately proclaimed Okpebholo, the APC candidate, the victor of the election.
