Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has reportedly laid out strict conditions for accepting the public apology issued by his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, following their recent public outburst.
Shaibu had publicly apologized to the Governor after being ordered out of his office, News About Nigeria reported.
Following his return from vacation abroad, Governor Obaseki stated that he would only consider accepting Shaibu’s apology if the Deputy Governor publicly renounced his gubernatorial ambition and proved unquestionable loyalty to him.
According to PM News, during the Governor’s absence, he instructed all members of the State Executive Council to convene in Lagos for a two-day meeting titled “Exco retreat with Mr. Governor.”
Surprisingly, Deputy Governor Shaibu was not informed or invited to the gathering which took place the previous weekend.
Sources revealed that the State Executive Council meeting for the current week occurred in Lagos on Monday, the 25th, with the Deputy Governor notably absent from the invitation list as well.
Obaseki allegedly threatened to withdraw Shaibu’s security vote and exclude him from all government activities, including Exco meetings, should he participate in the upcoming Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries for the governorship race.
To mitigate potential public criticism, the Governor reportedly arranged an Exco seminar the day before the meeting, allowing third parties to attend and making it appear as an emergency gathering rather than a formal Exco meeting.
Among those invited to the meeting was Asue Ighodalo, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Alaghodaro and the Governor’s favoured candidate for next year’s governorship election.
A source who attended the seminar revealed, “It is expected that the Governor will unveil and introduce his successor to all Exco members in Lagos this week.”
Efforts by newsmen to obtain official confirmation regarding the Executive meeting held in Lagos proved unsuccessful, as no official from the Governor’s office was willing to comment.
Additionally, it was revealed that Governor Obaseki had previously held a similar retreat with the 24 members of the State House of Assembly in Rwanda a few weeks ago.
