The feud between Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, is deepening as the State government has relocated the Office of the Deputy Governor to a building outside the Government House, Benin City.
The new Deputy Governor’s office, situated at No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, close to Government House, used to be the Edo State Public Procurement Office commissioned by former Governor of the State, Adams Oshiomhole, on December 16, 2014.
Already, at the entrance of the compound housing the office, there is a signboard with inscription: “Office of The Deputy Governor.”
Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, said when he was contacted: “If there is a government sign board saying so, then it must be so.”
Obaseki and Shaibu has been at loggerheads over succession issues as the Deputy Governor is bent on succeeding his principal.
While Shaibu, who hails from Edo North Senatorial District, intends to succeed Obaseki who is an indigene of Benin in Edo South Senatorial District, the Governor is pushing for a successor from Esanland in Edo Central Senatorial District.
The issue has been thrown into the public domain. For example, Shaibu staged a walkout of an event organised by the State government to mark the 32nd anniversary of the creation of Edo State and the 60th anniversary of the Midwest Referendum from where Edo and Delta were carved from, after his Media and other personal aides were barred from having access to the hall.
The incident happened barely 24 hours after a Department of State Services (DSS) operative denied Shaibu access to Governor Godwin Obaseki, on Sunday.