Chief Press Secretary to the reinstated deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, Musa Ebomhiana, yesterday said that describing his principal as an impostor is an affront to the judiciary.
On Monday, the state commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, said Shaibu was impersonating in reaction to Shaibu’s video on X, where he said he has resumed as the deputy governor after being reinstated by the court.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ebomhiana said, “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, describing the state Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu as “an impostor”.
“To say the least, the statement, in its entirety, is an affront to the judiciary and a clear violation of a valid court order of July 17, 2024, as delivered by Hon Justice James Omotosho of the FCT Federal High Court.
“We also view it as an insult to the people of Edo State who overwhelmingly voted for the Godwin Obaseki/Philip Shaibu joint ticket in the governorship election of September 2020. It’s a known fact that the Edo people never voted for Marvellous Omobayo as their deputy governor.”
He continued, “It’s also a known fact that in the eyes of the law, Omobayo is only a political appointee of Governor Godwin Obaseki, who imposed him on the people of Edo State.
“So, Nehikhare should know, except if he wants to be mischievous, Omobayo is the impostor who should stop parading himself as the Edo State deputy governor because he was never voted for.
“Several times, brilliant minds in the judiciary have conversed that filing a stay of execution on a declarative judgment of a competent court of law does not vitiate the execution of the court judgment. Both parties must obey the judgment, pending the determination of the stay of execution by the same court.
“However, we are not surprised by the Edo State government’s brazen display of executive lawlessness and rascality. If the head is rotten, what does one expect of the body? Obaseki is one governor known for his disdain for the judiciary and flagrant disrespect for judicial pronouncements.
“Erroneously, he also believes that every man has a price. He was said to have boasted several times at various quarters that Omobayo would remain his deputy governor until he served his term as Edo State governor.
“It’s unfortunate that Governor Godwin Obaseki has behaved as if he is a law unto himself, especially since the July 17 court judgment which reinstated Rt Hon Comrade Philip Shaibu as deputy governor of Edo State after his purported impeachment by the State House of Assembly in April 2024.”
