Edo APC set to boil as sacked dep gov, Shaibu, chairman in talks

The stage appears set for another rumpus in the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as actors in the party are set for a major faceoff over the likely return of the impeached Deputy Governor of the state, Philip Shaibu to the party.

Shaibu, a former member of the party, from where he was initially elected on a joint ticket with Governor Godwin Obaseki, was impeached on Monday by the Edo State House of Assembly, which accused him of leaking state secrets.

Before his eventual impeachment, Shaibu, a former close ally of Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of the state, was engaged in a war of attrition against Governor Obaseki over the his governorship ambition.

Though Obaseki tried as much as possible to avoid expressly coming out clean on the cause of his faceoff with his deputy, Shaibu used every opportunity to inform Nigerians that Obaseki was fighting him because of his ambition to become the next governor of the state.

While the infighting lasted, the state House of Assembly consistently denied plans to impeach the deputy governor despite Shaibu’s insistence that Obaseki and the lawmakers at the state Assembly were bent on impeaching him.

However, matters took a new turn after the conclusion of the contentious governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, which Shaibu laid claims to winning, as the state Assembly formally issued a notice of impeachment against him.

Though Shaibu made frantic efforts to stop the impeachment, the lawmakers went ahead and with conclusion the sitting of the probe panel put in place by the state Chief Judge, Shaibu’s fate was sealed as he was impeached on Monday.

The Impeachment, has however, set the stage for another round of bickering in the Edo State chapter of the APC, Shaibu’s former party, with dissenting voices speaking out against his alleged plan to return to the party.

The ball was set rolling by ward chairmen of the APC I. Etsako West Local Government Area of the state, the home LG of Shaibu, when they unequivocally declared their opposition to Shaibu’s return to the party, insisting that there is no vacancy for him in APC.

The 12 ward Chairmen, in a communique jointly issued by them on Tuesday, vowed to resist the erstwhile deputy governor’s re-admittance into the party.

“There is neither vacancy for him in his ward (Ward 11) nor Etsako West. He should rather concentrate on his membership of PDP or look elsewhere,” the chairmen said.

READ ALSO:Sacked Shaibu fights impeachment, petitions CJN

They also contended that “the APC was the direct victim of Shaibu’s inglorious midnight inauguration of the Assembly in 2019, and all his subsequent evil machinations which have made Edo state a laughing stock on matters relating to state legislature.”

The ward chairmen also called on the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, to hear their voices and help to keep the peace they were currently enjoying in APC in Edo state.

They further cautioned that any attempt to enroll Shaibu into APC was a direct invitation to crisis, fragmentation, disaffection, disenchantment, and disintegration.

In what however shows a direct contradiction of the position of the ward chairmen, the Edo State Chairman of the APC, Jarret Tenebe, on Wednesday, just a day after the release of the ward chairmen‘s communique, visited Shaibu in his Abuja residence, declaring that he was on the visit in his capacity as the Chairman of Edo APC.

Tenebe told Shaibu: “I am here as APC chairman in Edo state and I still recognise you as the deputy governor of the state.

“This is because the sham they did at the House of Assembly is a disgrace to the governor and aberration to democracy. And I know the court will not allow it (impeachment) to stand.”

Tenebe, who described Shaibu as someone who stood out and paid a price for his loyalty to the detriment of the people he started with, said further: “We have just got past Easter. What has happened to you is a replica of what Jesus Christ paid. He died for our sins

“It is a price that you have paid to ensure that Obaseki and his semblance are rooted out of Edo State. I can tell you that we will not allow you to work alone.

“When one door is closed, many more doors are opened. So, many more doors are opened for you from today,” Tenebe added.

In his response, Shaibu said he was pleased that the turn of events have brought him and Tenebe together, adding, “you are someone I have always admired.”

According to him, the impeachment happened because God wanted to open a new chapter, noting, “and I see that new chapter and opportunity.

“I think our next step is September 21st (Edo guber poll), and by the grace of God, we will get there”.

Though the impending movement of Shaibu back to the APC may come with fresh crisis within the party, the thinking in many quarters is that the party may actually need a collaboration with Shaibu in order to stop Obaseki from having his way by installing the PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo as his successor.

How well the new game will pan out is left to be seen, but what remains certain is that given the animosity that attended Obaseki and Shaibu’s exit from the party, there are certainties that a new crisis is in the offing.

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