Nigeria security agencies have surrounded the Edo State Government House following reports that the Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, would resume office today (Monday).
The security personnel include policemen, Department of State Services (DSS) officials and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), with many Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
They prevented vehicles into Government House from the first gate with staff, journalists, visitors, and others politely asked to trek, leaving their cars behind.
This is as the Edo Deputy Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebomhiana Musa, in a statement, denied any plan to invade the Osadebe House.
Musa said Shaibu is a peace-loving man who firmly believes in the rule of law. He called on Obaseki to obey court order that affirmed Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.
“Our attention has been drawn to the effect that Edo State Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu is making plans to invade the Government House on Monday, September 30, 2024, in a bid to enforce two different court judgements, ordering his reinstatement.
“We want to put it clearly here that, unlike Governor Godwin Obaseki, Philip Shaibu is a peace-loving man, who firmly believes in the rule of law and would not want to shed innocent blood, for whatever reason.
“As it is today, in eyes of the law and in the eyes of the good people of Edo State, indeed, Nigerians, Philip Shaibu is the de jure and de facto Deputy Governor of Edo State. We need not fight or struggle for that which God has given us.
“Obaseki and his co-travellers should accept the fact that the good people of Edo State have spoken, and his godson, Asue Ighodalo, has been roundly rejected at the governorship election of September 21, 2024. Sadly, this reality is yet to dawn on them.
“Crusoe Osagie (Special Adviser to Edo Governor on Media Projects), the purveyor of the fake news, is well known as an alarmist and propagandist who thrives on rumours and beer parlour gossips, with little or no respect for the ethics of our cherished profession, Journalism. So, he has to be ignored,” Musa said.
