Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu was at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s national headquarters in Abuja with some of his supporters, demanding the party’s certificate of return for the governorship election, but he was not given.
Recall that Shaibu was declared the winner of a parallel PDP governorship primary for the state while Asue Ighodalo won the main election observed by INEC.
Shaibu had fallen apart with his boss Governor Godwin Obaseki who made it plain he would not be supporting the candidacy of Shaibu.
The PDP had earlier presented a certificate of return to Ighodalo who is recognized by the party and INEC as the candidate of the PDP but Shaibu stormed the party’s secretariat on Wednesday to ask for the certificate of return, a documents that validates the candidature of any contestant. He insists he won the primary election and should be formally recognised as the PDP candidate.
He said: “Today is the day set aside for the collection of certificate of return for the winner of the primary. I understand someone came yesterday and was given, well, the court will decide…”
Before his most recent action, the Edo State deputy governor has maintained he is the authentic flagbearer of the party.
“I was elected by the authentic delegates, what is key is who are those that elected the governor’s preferred candidate Asue, and who are those that elected Philip Shaibu? I think in the coming days we will know who among them are authentic,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday.
He also claimed that Ighodalo does not understand the grassroots unlike him.
“The option is for the PDP not to go and argue against my candidacy, if they do that PDP will lose Edo State. Edo people do not want Asue Ighodalo to be the governor of Edo State because he is not a homeboy they know.
“They are looking for someone that they know, somebody they can feel, somebody they can touch. PDP has a date with history, delegates have spoken that they want Shaibu and I can bet you that the other eight aspirants will support Shaibu if the party backs him,’ he said,
