Edo State’s Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu has approached the People’s Democratic Party, PDP’s National Headquarters in Abuja, to demand the certificate of return for the governorship primaries held at the weekend.
Shaibu’s request was ignored and he has threatened to head to court over the issue.
Shaibu participated in and was declared the winner of a parallel PDP governorship primary.
In the official primary, political godson the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki, Mr
Asue Ighodalo, won.
PDP has since presented a certificate of return to Ighodalo.
Insisting he won the primary election, Shaibu went to the party’s secretariat on Wednesday to ask for his own certificate of return.
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 Asue did 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,” Shaibu said.
“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 Shuaibu and I can bet you that the other eight aspirants will support Shuaibu if they party back him.
“If the party decides to join us in court to argue for Ighodalo then PDP then winning Edo State for PDP will be shaky because Asue will not be accepted by the people”.
