Despite deputy governor Philip Shaibu’s withdrawal of the suit he instituted against his boss governor Godwin Obaseki and others in Abuja over a purported plan to impeach him, the deputy governor and staff have been sent out of the Edo State Government House.
He has been relocated to a new building which formerly housed the Edo State Procurement Agency.
When LEADERSHIP visited the new office located at No: 7 Dennis Osadebey Avenue meant for the deputy governor, some members of staff of the deputy governor were sighted moving into the newly renovated office.
There were also some plain cloth security aides to the deputy governor who drove into the facility and later left.
An aide to Shaibu while confirming the development said, “We have been told to move and we have started movement today. The memo was sent directly to the Permanent Secretary, it was a two-paragraph memo from the HoS but the civil servants are the ones moving right now, the letter was sent to the PS so we are waiting for directives. The civil servants are moving today but we may move before the end of the week,” the aide said.
It would be recalled that a statement issued by Shaibu last week withdrawing the suit said his decision was to respect the intervention of several individuals including religious leaders, prominent Edo people and the traditional institution and also appreciated the governor for agreeing on the peace initiatives.
The statement read: “Re: Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1027/2023 between: – Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu and Inspector General of Police, State Security Service, The Governor of Edo State and The Chief Judge of Edo State.
“Arising from the series of meetings held with me and also with Mr. Governor by well-meaning Edolites and indeed Nigerians including Party Leaders, Traditional Rulers, and my Archbishop, His Grace Most Rev’d Dr. Augustine Akubeze, the Archbishop of Benin Archdiocese on the issues that led to my going to Court on the above-named suit and with due respect to these eminent personalities and leaders whose persuasions and persons I cannot ignore, I, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu have authorized and instructed my Solicitors to withdraw the Suit forthwith.
“I wish to sincerely thank and appreciate these well-meaning Nigerians, party leaders, traditional rulers, and my archbishop, His Grace Most Rev. Dr. Augustine Akubeze for their kind words, advice and encouragement thus far in ensuring peace and unity in our dear state. I also wish to place on record my special thanks to Mr. Governor, my boss and senior brother for this path of peace,” he said.
