The court-reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, says he has forgiven Governor Godwin Obaseki for marginalizing him despite his sacrifices and loyalty.
Shaibu made this announcement while speaking with newsmen after meeting with the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, at the party headquarters in Abuja.
He said as human beings everyone has different ways he or she behaves, stressing that only God is perfect.
The Deputy governor said he had to forgive his principal because God handed down a commandment of loving one’s neighbour as himself, stating that there would be peace in the world in adherence to that commandment.
“From my own end, I gave everything. I gave all to have him succeed because, for me, it is about the state and the state in everything. So, I gave up all my earnings. Even to my official earnings. I forfeited lots of my official entitlements. Why? Because I didn’t want any trouble or disagreement. And the easiest way you can have disagreements could be money. Even my official entitlement, most of them I didn’t apply for.
“As small as 28 days, that is the first earning that you earn whether as a civil servant or in government, the first and second terms I didn’t have it. That is, anything that has to do with going to meet the governor, to apply for anything even personal entitlements or official entitlements, I didn’t. I confined myself to the official salary that came to me.”
The Deputy Governor, who returned to APC last Saturday, also faulted the state government for asking him to return the 22 official vehicles in his care.
According to him, all but one Jeep the governor bought for him in the third year of their administration belongs to him.
He reiterated the need to strengthen internal party democracy to stabilize the country’s fledgling democracy and identified the lack of internal party democracy as the major cause of leadership crisis among politicians who always want their interests to override the wishes of the majority.
On the forthcoming Edo State governorship election, Shuaibu said the contest is for the APC candidate to win.
