Philip Shaibu, who was removed from office as the Deputy Governor of Edo State, has vowed to challenge in court his impeachment and removal from office by the Edo State House of Assembly.

“I am confident that the legal system will vindicate me and expose the sham that has been orchestrated against me,” Mr Shaibu said in a recorded video posted on his X handle.

It was the former deputy governor’s first reaction to his removal from office by the state assembly.

Omobayo Godwins was promptly cleared and sworn in to replace Mr Shaibu as the new Deputy Governor of the state.

“I will not be deterred or intimidated by those who seek to subvert our democracy,” Mr Shaibu said on Monday while rejecting his removal, which he said was based on “trumped-up charges,” he stated.

Mr Shaibu described his removal from office as a “dangerous descent into dictatorship and threat to democracy”, adding that it was a plot “hatched because of his governorship ambition.”

Mr Shaibu’s removal from office on Monday was the peak of his prolonged political feud with Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The lawmakers had accused the former deputy governor of perjury and disclosure of government secrets and asked the state chief judge to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations.

The panel, according to the majority leader of Edo State of House of Assembly, failed to establish a case of perjury against Mr Shaibu but found him culpable of disclosing government secrets, prompting an overwhelming vote for his removal for his removal from office by the assembly on Monday.

Mr Shaibu, in his first reaction to the development, said the lawmakers betrayed the trust of the Edo people.

He said the allegations brought against him were meant to conceal the true motive behind this impeachment.

“It is a flagrant abuse of power and betrayal of the trust that the people of Edo have placed in their elected officials.

“We refuse to stay inactive while our democratic institutions are exploited for personal gains. We will fight this injustice with every ounce of strength in our veins for the sake of the people of Edo State and the future of democracy.

“We cannot allow tyranny and oppression to take root in our society. We must resist the forces that seek to undermine our freedom and trample upon our rights.

“To the members of Edo House of Assembly who have chosen to forsake their Oath of Office in partake in this charade. History will judge harshly for your betrayal of the people to represent their interest,” Mr Shaibu said.

‘I saw it coming’

Mr Shaibu had long seen his removal from office before Monday. Last year, he initiated a suit to stop it even before any official move was taken to remove him from office.

He, however, withdrew the suit following intervention by elders of the state to settle his political rift with Governor Obaseki.

Messrs Shaibu and Obaseki were political allies but fell apart due to the former’s ambition to succeed the latter as governor of Edo State in the 21 September election.

Governor Obaseki, who preferred a banker, Asue Ighodalo, as his successor, described his former deputy as being “overambitious”.

Mr Obaseki, PREMIUM TIMES gathered. favours power shift to Edo South senatorial district, because he is from Edo Central while his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole (now senator) as well as Mr Shaibu hail from Edo North. Mr Ighodalo hails from Edo South.

Besides, Mr Ighodalo was a member of the Edo State Economic Team, where Mr Obaseki served as chairperson, under Mr Oshiomhole as governor.

Mr Shaibu had, in an interview, said he felt hurt and betrayed that Mr Obaseki preferred another person as his successor despite his financial investment in Mr Obaseki’s second term.

The feud deteriorated to the extent that Governor Obaseki relocated the Office of the Deputy Governor from the Government House to another location in the state.

‘Obaseki-Shaibu’ feud

Mr Shaibu first served as a lawmaker in Edo State before he was elected a federal lawmaker in 2015, a position he resigned and paired on a joint ticket with Governor Obaseki, where they contested and won the governorship election in 2016.

Being the preferred successor of then-incumbent Governor Oshiomhole, Messrs Obaseki and Shaibu enjoyed a smooth victory at the polls.

Four years later, the duo sought a second term but were denied a ticket by Mr Oshiomhole who later became the national chairperson of the APC, a situation that triggered their defection to the PDP, a platform under which they contested and won the second term in 2020.

After falling out with Mr Oshiomhole, Messrs Obaseki and Shaibu became more bonded politically but the governorship ambition of Mr Shaibu, which is not supported by Mr Obaseki has soured the relationship between them.

Mr Shaibu declared for governorship against the wishes of Governor Obaseki.

He went further to organise a parallel governorship primary of the PDP in Edo State where he, being the only aspirant, emerged the winner while Mr Ighodalo, emerged the winner of another primary of the party which Mr Obaseki and other leaders of the party attended.

Shortly after the PDP primary, the State Assembly served an impeachment notice on Mr Shaibu, a development that led to his removal from office.