I won’t drag power with Obaseki, says Edo deputy gov

The new deputy governor of Edo State, Omobayo Godwins, has promised not to drag power with the state governor, Godwin Obaseki.

He said he would only do whatever the governor asked him to do.

The 38-year-old former Labour Party House of Representatives candidate made this known in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today Programme on Monday.

Godwins was sworn in after the state assembly sacked Philip Shaibu for allegedly leaking the state government’s secrets.

Speaking on being satisfied with the role of a deputy governor being relegated to a “spare tyre”, the new deputy governor said, “It’s okay with me. Life is a process. At 37+, I am already a deputy governor. It has improved my political outlook, and I am not in a rush to drag with my governor.

“Whatever he says I should is what I will do. He knows my strength. So, I will dwell on my strength when it comes to adding value. Politically, I am learning on the job.”

Godwins said that the state’s chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party contacted him to be the new deputy governor.

He said, “Becoming a deputy governor wasn’t expected. I was expecting to run for House of Reps in 2027 after losing in 2023. It is an act of God. I am happy about this and promise to be a model for Edo youths.

“PDP contacted me to be the deputy governor to Obaseki. Although, I have been following him for a very long time. Even though I was in the Labour Party, I was willing to pitch a tent with the PDP because of him and Ighodalo.”

Godwins boasted that he has robust grassroots support from his base in Akoko Edo, one of the local governments in the Edo North Senatorial District, to boost the chances of Ighodalo, who hails from Ewohimi in the Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo Central Senatorial District.

“My style of politicking is different. That I contested under the flagship of the Labour Party is not a thing to think about; it was about me. I went to over 46 communities in Akoko Edo to vote for me, and they accepted me.”

On the short-term tenure, Godwins stressed that to his constituency, it is not about the period; it is about the number of impacts that he would make as the deputy governor.

He added that his becoming deputy governor, months before the expiration of the eight-year tenure of Obaseki, was part of the political permutations for Ighodalo to defeat his closest contenders like LP’s Olumide Akpata and Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress.

Reacting to Shaibu’s impeachment, he said, “That is politics for you. Your job, first of all, is to be loyal.

“My appointment has increased the confidence of the youth. Youths are very happy that it is big news for them.”

Shaibu has described his impeachment by the state House of Assembly as illegal.

Shaibu said the impeachment was due to his ambition to become the state governor.

He said, “My good people of Edo State, I thank you all for standing by me in these troubling circumstances as the deputy governor of Edo State.

“It is with a heavy heart, yet a resolute spirit, that I come before you to address the recent events that are unfolding in our dear state. I denounce in the strongest term the illegal impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly over baseless charges.”

He added that his impeachment was an attack on democracy and a show of dictatorship.