SaharaReporters had reported how two candidates emerged as winners at parallel primary elections of the party held on Thursday in Benin, Edo State capital.
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu has claimed that he is the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the forthcoming election slated for September 2024.
SaharaReporters had reported how two candidates emerged as winners at parallel primary elections of the party held on Thursday in Benin, Edo State capital.
Shaibu was announced as the winner of the first parallel primaries of the party while the Chairman of the Edo PDP Primary Electoral Committee and Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State also declared a popular businessman, Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the second parallel primary election.
Speaking on this when he appeared on a live programme on Channel TV, Shaibu blamed the party’s leadership for a lack of unity and lack of consensus among the aspirants which resulted in the parallel primaries.
He said, “If the process from where Enugu Governor came and all the processes follow our rules and regulation. And I would be in that stadium, if I win, fine. If I don’t win, I will congratulate the winner and work with the winner.
“I’m a team player, even the governor knows. I’m loyal to friendship and loyal to my work. I am somebody that believes in team play and teamwork and that is why nine of us insisted that the process must be followed and there are issues with these processes. Why? Because we want PDP to have a candidate. I want people to produce one of us and all of us. We follow that person and we are consistent about it. So typically, you cannot have nine persons saying one thing against one. And that one is right against the other nine. It doesn’t make any sense.
“I won’t tell you what we have agreed and what we will do, those that went to the primary, they have reasons for going there. By the time this process started, even those that went to the stadium, there was a reason for them to go to the stadium. And we are part of the reason why they went there.
“Democracy is all about inclusion, Democracy is about respect. I am the winner of this primary. I’ve already sent my team. They told me that Ighodalo was granted an interview. I’ve sent a message that I want to see him so that he can join me. I already have the other eight people. We are going to be having a meeting this morning on how they would support me. The person I need to bring on board now is Ighodalo and I have sent a message to him.
“I’m already reaching out to him. Because I am the authentic candidate and as you move on you realize that. So I want to be the rule now of bringing everybody together. And I’m also using the medium to appeal to the governor.”
The deputy governor and his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki have been at loggerheads over the former’s decision to succeed the latter.
SaharaReporters had reported that the deputy governor in December 2023 claimed that the state government had given zero allocation to his office for six months.
Shaibu made this known while speaking to newsmen at the inauguration of the secretariat of the Correspondents Chapel of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City.
He added that he had been running the office from his pocket and donations from friends.
The crisis deepened in September when Shaibu decided to relocate his office to a new location outside the State Government House.
The new deputy governor’s office used to be the state Public Procurement Office inaugurated by a former governor of the state, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, on December 16, 2014.