Edo: Okpebholo has achieved what we couldn’t do in office – Shaibu

The immediate past deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, said the current governor of the state, Monday Okpebholo, has already achieved something significant within 100 days in office.

Shaibu, who stated this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, said that Okpebholo has been able to attract help from the Federal Government, which is something he (Shaibu) and the former governor, Godwin Obaseki, did not do while in office.

According to him, bringing the Federal Government to Edo State will free up funds for more projects in the state.

“The clever thing the governor (Okpebholo) has done, which I applaud him for and which we didn’t do, is the ability to go to the center and woo the center for support.

“And the support coming from the center will free the state’s resources for other developments. That is what he is cleverly doing, and I think that will help him to develop fast,” Shaibu said.

The ex-deputy governor reiterated that the administration of Obaseki, which he served under, also wanted to do good things but claimed that political interests came in along the line. He added that with his experience in government, he now encourages everyone to pray for the leaders because if the governor fails, the state fails.

“Every government, even our own government, it was clear that we wanted to do good things and everything, but along the line, politics and interests came in.

“That is why I consistently, without mincing words, each time I say support Okpebholo, I follow it up with, ‘Please also pray for him, so that things that make one change and become something negative do not happen in his own time,’” he added.

Recall that Shaibu and Obaseki, former allies, fell out in the run-up to the September 21 governorship election, with the former later returning to the All Progressives Congress (APC).