Edo 2024: Reject my governorship candidature at your peril, Philip Shaibu tells PDP

●May drag PDP through the Court

The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu, warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against rejecting him as the Governorship standard bearer of the Party for the State except it was ready to lose the State gubernatorial election.

Shaibu, who gave the warning when he featured on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, February 23, 2024, insisted that he remained the authentic candidate of the PDP for the September 21, election.

In the PDP Governorship primary election conducted by officials of the Party sent by the National secretariat and witnessed by INEC, Senator Asue Ighodalo won the primary election which took place at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on Thursday, February 22 while Comrade Shaibu was declared winner of a parallel election he allegedly organised at a different venue.

In spite of the outcome of the PDP primary election, the Deputy Governor stated that Edo people did not want Ighodalo, whom he said was not a ‘homeboy’.

Specifically faulting the primary that produced Ighodalo, Comrade Shaibu stressed that it was organised by the State Party Executive as against the National Executive of the party.

He said that members of the Party State Executive and the governor were supporters of Ighodalo and could therefore not conduct a free, fair and an unbiased election.

The Deputy Governor insisted that he was duly elected by the authentic delegates of the party in the state.

According to Shaibu: “The option is for the PDP not to go and argue against my candidacy. If they do that, PDP will lose Edo State. Edo people do not want Asue Ighodalo to be the governor of Edo State because he is not a homeboy they know.

“They are looking for someone that they know, somebody they can feel, somebody they can touch. PDP has a date with history. The delegates have spoken that they want Shuaibu.

“If the party decides to join us in court to argue for Ighodalo, then PDP winning Edo State will be shaky because Asue will not be accepted by the people.

“I was elected by the authentic delegates. What is key is who are those that elected the Governor’s preferred candidate, Asue and who are those that elected Philip Shaibu? I think in the coming days we will know who among them are authentic,” he declared.