Former Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu has declared his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, in the upcoming September 21 governorship election.

Shaibu, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), made the announcement on the sidelines of the 2024 Father’s Day celebration at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church in Benin City.

He stated that he has chosen to support Okpebholo, a fellow “homeboy,” over the PDP candidate, whom he regards as an outsider and the product of godfatherism.

“I will support a homeboy, I came into politics to contest as the governor of Edo State because I need government to return to homeboy- people that understand our plight, people that understand what the people are feeling,” Shaibu said.

“Even the United Nations talk about the need for assessment. We don’t want outsiders, we have experimented, with outsiders and it’s not working, so this time around, we want homeboy.

“The man they are parading in the PDP is an outsider, and we have also agreed that no more godfatherism in Edo, so the man the PDP is trying to portray in Edo now is the godson of Obaseki, and there is no way godsons will now be governor of Edo.”

Shaibu stated that since he has dropped out of the governorship race, he prefers Okpebholo, explaining that his decision is not anti-party like Obaseki stated that everyone has the right to support whoever they want.

“The governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki says that everybody has the right to support whoever he wants to support, but he forgot also that he doesn’t have the right to stop anybody from whom he wants to support,” Shaibu said.

“But I take one part from what he said, we all have the right to support whom we want to support, so it’s my right to decide who I want to support.”

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