Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has stated that the millions of supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state will determine the fate of his deputy, Philip Shaibu, who recently declared his intention to run for the governorship seat.
Obaseki made this known in an interview with journalists after a meeting with Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, at the Ramat House on Thursday.
He said their discussion centred on issues relating to the PDP Governors’ Forum, including the party’s upcoming governorship election in Edo State.
“We also discussed many other issues relating to our party as a whole and the state of the country. And as you know, things are not as we want them to be. We will keep rubbing minds to see how we can support the administration and save this country by reducing the suffering of Nigerians,” he said.
About his relationship with his deputy, Obaseki said, “The relationship as you know, has been cordial. He (Philip) wants to run for the office I currently occupy and he is free to. I think as a Nigerian, he has the constitutional right to run, nobody can or should stop him.
“The party will decide and also members of the party will decide who will be the flag bearer of the party in the forthcoming governorship election.”
Asked if he would support his deputy’s gubernatorial bid, Obaseki said his vote alone would not determine Shaibu’s fate. “I’m only one out of millions of our party members in Edo state,” he said.
The PDP governor also discussed the state of the nation, expressing concern over the rising cost of food items and the suffering of Nigerians.
According to Obaseki, “Things are very difficult as we know at this point in time. Nigerians are suffering, and the suffering is unprecedented.
“But I think, we should stop lamenting and think of what to do as leaders to confront the issues we are facing to reduce the sufferings of our people and put more food on their tables.
“The year is coming to an end and the prices of food items are going up and what can we, as PDP governors do to ameliorate the sufferings of our people. These are some of the things we talked about while preserving the unity of this country.”
