Edo: Obaseki Takes Battle To Abuja, Lobbies IGP

By Fola James

Philip Shuaibu, Edo State deputy governor flew to Abuja, the nation’s capital on Monday to deliver two messages from Governor Godwin Obaseki, his boss.

The most important of the two assignments, is a petition to the Inspector General of Police and Director General of Department of State Services, DSS to arrest Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the ruling party, All Progressive Congress, APC.

At an earlier meeting of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, the Edo deputy governor had told his colleagues that Governor Obaseki was not planning to defect to another party to achieve his ambition of ruling the state for a second term.

The governor will fight to the end in realisation of his ambition, Shuaibu said, in response to the dirty political fight between his principal and Oshiomhole.

Obaseki and Oshiomhole have been on each other’s throats over the control of the soul of the state.

But the governor, appear to have realised that the situation is getting out of the ordinary and that he could not fight Oshiomhole, his former Godfather alone.

For instance, the battle for the control of the party and the state, has led to pockets of violence across the state.

Things are indeed getting to a dangerous dimensions, watchers of the state’s politics, told the magazine on Monday.

Governor has now petitioned the IGP and DSS to arrest Oshiomhole, because as he claimed, the national chairman is the trouble maker whose plan is to set the state on fire.

The request for Oshiomhole’s arrest is contained in a petition submitted to the IG and Director General of the Department of State Services DSS by  Shuaibu earlier on Monday

The petition claimed that the APC National Chairman has consistently breached the peace of Edo state,ignoring lawful orders of constituted authorities.

Recall that the governor had last week, threatened to deal with the former governor and labour leader by expelling him from the party.

Also, Obaseki has set up an investigative panel to probe his predecessor over contracts awarded during his eight year tenure as governor.

There could be new dimension to the political crisis now that the IGP is involved, watchers of the state’s politics say.