Catholic priest cautions Obaseki over moves to impeach Philip Shaibu
A Catholic priest, Andrew Obinyan, on Sunday, appealed to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State to prevail on the state House of Assembly to discontinue the impeachment process against Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu.
The Edo House of Assembly on 6 March began impeachment proceedings against Mr Shaibu over alleged perjury and disclosure of government secrets.
Mr Obinyan, who is the parish priest of St Francis Catholic Church, Benin City, Edo State, in a statement, appealed to the governor to leave his deputy alone to deal with his issues and resolve them without initiating impeachment, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The priest said the lawmakers must not take any action that “bears the semblance of retaliation.”
‘Why you shouldn’t do this, Obaseki’
To Governor Obaseki, he said, “May it not be in the annals of Edo political history that there was once a deputy governor, impeached under your watch for his aspiration.”
Mr Obinyan said he regarded the governor as a “civilised and enlightened man”.
“It will be perceived as a sting of betrayal and it will invariably redefine loyalty and aspiration as antithetical.
“Please, do not get me wrong, because this is far more polite than you can imagine. This is the kernel of my entreaty,” Mr Obinyan said in the statement.
The Catholic priest noted that reconciliation was always a prosperous option and urged the governor to listen to his kind heart.
He said, “I am not insinuating he must be governor. Yet, we cannot justify an impeachment without putting a wedge on the path of positive advancement in other spheres of life.
“Do yourselves a favour because you don’t know the next victim in sudden political twists and turns.
“Dear Mr Governor, here is the point. Bear with Comrade Philip Shaibu, not for his sake but for the sake of your own indomitable spirit.
“What I see in you is what I see in your deputy, a resolute spirit. We often say only God can determine who gets power.
“This saying should not be personalised and meaningful only when it is to our advantage.
“When you were at your lowest point and facing your political trials, your rock bottom foundation was the support from Edo people and your deputy, who you used to call your brother,” he added.
Edo 2024 politics
The move to impeach Mr Shaibu is apparently because of his insistence to contest for the 2024 governorship election in Edo against the wish of Governor Obaseki, who prefers another person, Asue Ighodalo, to succeed him as governor.
Mr Ighodalo, a former banker, recently won the PDP governorship ticket in Edo while Mr Shaibu, through a parallel primary election in which he was a lone candidate, claimed he is the rightful candidate of the party.
Mr Shaibu was a strong political ally of Governor Obaseki until his (Shaibu) governorship ambition created a feud between both of them. He (Shaibu) stood in solidarity with Mr Obaseki when Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo and the then national chairperson of the APC, wanted to stop the governor from running for a second term.
Both Governor Obaseki and Mr Shaibu defected from the APC to the PDP where they got the party ticket and later won in the 2020 general election.
