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”