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Edo Guber: Why I’m supporting homeboy Okpebholo -Shaibu reveals
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu has said he would be supporting the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen Monday Okpebholo ahead of the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata.
He added that his choice of supporting Okpebholo, is because he possess the characteristics of the homeboy needed to take over governance in Edo State.
Shaibu spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the Fathers’ Day celebration at the St Paul Catholic Church in Benin City.
He said the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo is a product of godfatherism, a lexicon he said has been eradicated from the political history of the state which he said former governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole preached and which he joined the governor to stop in the 2020 election adding that he has also learnt new political strategies from Governor Obaseki.
He said, “I am a very good learner and learning is what is most important in our lives, We must continue to learn till we die, the governor of Edo State. Mr Godwin Obaseki says everybody has the right to support whoever he wants to support but he also forgot that he doesn’t have the right to stop anybody from supporting whoever he wants to support so it is my right to also decide who I want to support.
“I will support a homeboy, I came in to contest to be governor of Edo State because I needed governance to return to a homeboy, somebody that understands our plight; somebody that understands what the people are feeling.
Even the United Nations talks about needs assessment. We don’t want an outsider. We have experimented with an outsider and it is not working, so this time, we want a homeboy.
“I came into the contest as a homeboy but today, we have only two home boys in the major political parties; one is in the Labour Party LP) and one is in the All Progressives Congress (APC). I chose to follow the homeboy in the APC, the man they are parading in the PDP is an outsider and we have also agreed that no more godfatherism in Edo. The man PDP is parading is the godson of Obaseki, and there is no way a godson can be governor of Edo State again,” he declared.
On whether he would not be accused of anti-party activity since he is still a member of the PDP, Shiabu said “No, it is not anti-party because I know that in the last election, the governor was one leg in the Labour Party and one leg PDP so it can’t be anti-party now.”
On the capacity of Okpebholo he said “Enough of English that takes us nowhere. We are talking about governance, the man that understands the plight of the people, he who wears the shoes knows where it pinches. A man that has never voted, how can he be seeking for our vote, and we are comparing him to a man that is a sitting senator who is a homeboy.
“When Akpata and Akpaomiza get home to their people, they speak their language, I have chosen one out of the two because I see Akpakomiza as an innocent politician, somebody that is grass-rooted, somebody that is truly a homeboy”
According to him, such financial mishandling not only disrupts critical public services and projects but also results in major losses to the nation’s purse—resources that could have been channelled into crucial services and developmental efforts, as laid out in Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution.
Speaker Abbas, thereafter setup a Special Committee to be chaired by Rep. Chinedu Martins to immediately launch a probe into the “Utilisation of take-off grants, bailout funds, and interventions allocated to MDAs, government institutions, and GOEs from 2015 to present.”
The FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, expressed satisfaction with the progress on the Abuja light rail project, reaffirming its May 29 delivery as sacrosanct.
He made these assurances after inspecting the ongoing construction of access roads to the train stations on Wednesday, from Metro Train Station in the Central Area to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Reassuring journalists accompanying him, the minister reiterated that President Bola Tinubu would commission the rail project on May 29 to mark his second year in office.
The visited stations were Wupa station near Idu and Bassanjiwa station near the airport.
“This is part of our routine inspection of ongoing projects to see the contractors’ progress,” Wike explained.
“We are working day and night to fulfill our promise to President Tinubu and FCT residents. By May, Mr. President will ride on the Metro line.”
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen are currently invading some communities in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to sources, the herdsmen armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the community around 04:15pm on Thursday.
“Our lives are in danger this evening, armed Fulani herdsmen, about 600 in numbers have taken over our communities this evening,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
“They’re currently moving around towns in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue state. No security personnel at all, Governor Alia didn’t send security, they said operation will start soon once they (herders) have observed the place.”
The insecurity situation in Benue has been alarming in recent weeks with attacks from gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.
The media had reported that suspected herdsmen again unleashed terror in Benue State, attacking three communities in Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) on Wednesday, just a day after 11 people were killed in a deadly raid on Otobi community.
The latest victims of the escalating violence were Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju, communities that had previously suffered an attack in February, which left five people dead.
However, the renewed attack has created fear and mass displacement among residents, with women and children fleeing to safety.
Local sources say the death toll from the fresh attack remains unclear, but several casualties are feared.
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