Sacked deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has said his impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly would not stand and that the whole exercise was because of the September 21 governorship election in the state.
In a viral video he released yesterday, Shaibu spoke when he received the acting state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Emperor Jaret Tenebe in his Abuja residence.
Tenebe said he was on a solidarity visit to Shaibu where he described the impeachment as a sham and urged Shaibu to use all legal means to upturn the action.
His visit came barely 24 hours after some APC faithful in Etsako West local government area protested the planned return of Shaibu to the APC.
Shaibu said, “We have shared a lot of things both good and bad together. I am deeply humbled and happy that even this situation has brought us together as one that we are. You are one person that I have always admired, someone that I grew up with.
“The person that actually separated us has also united us and that is the beauty of what has happened. I want to assure you that as we move on, just like you said this whole thing happened between the lent and Ramadan and the lessons of lent and Ramadan are obvious.
I am not ready to change my attitude, I am ready to be a friend and loyal friend and partner.
“What has happened will not change my quest to be loyal to anybody that I will work with and I will encourage anybody to be loyal to their boss. I was a loyal person and I am still loyal, the price of loyalty is success and impeachment that has happened is because God wants to open a new chapter and I see that new chapter, that new opportunity and I can assure you, my chairman, I call you my chairman because you are already my chairman and I think you are also one of the reasons why they hurriedly did what they did.
They know what it takes for you and I to be together and they thought they could use impeachment to get me to succumb but I won’t succumb. I am somebody that is strong willed and when I mean something, I mean it and when I look at the whole thing, I am paying the price, I also believe that it is only the man that God impeaches that is impeached and by the grace of God, I know the judiciary will do the needful.
It is an impeachment that I have not been served so I want to assure you of my cooperation and my loyalty will remain my weapon and I will definitely be there at all times. I think our next target is September 21st and by the grace of God we will get there.”
Earlier, Tenebe had assured Shaibu that he would not be abandoned and stated “I am here to pay you this solidarity visit because I still regard you as the deputy governor of Edo State because that sham they did in the Edo State House of Assembly is a disgrace to the governor and it is an aberration to our democracy which I know that the court will not allow to stand.
“You are somebody who stood out, the price you paid is the price of loyalty, you were loyal even to the detriment of people you started with, you paid that price.
“We just celebrated Easter and we know the price Jesus Christ paid. He died for our sins, what has happened is a replica of what Jesus Christ did for humanity. Today, they have removed you as the deputy governor but we still regard you as the deputy governor, it is the price that you have paid to ensure that Obaseki and his semblance are rooted out of Edo State and I can tell you that we will not allow you walk alone, we are with you in spirit,” he said.
