Edo State’s Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, on Wednesday, revealed that he was convinced to become Governor Godwin Obaseki’s running mate. 

Despite their later falling out in light of Shaibu’s candidacy for the upcoming 2024 governorship election, he explained that he was initially brought in to enhance the political strength of Obaseki during his gubernatorial bid.

During an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show program, the deputy governor shared that it took nearly a month of persuasion for him to agree to assume the role of deputy governor.

“I was initially persuaded. I didn’t want to be the deputy governor. I was very comfortable in the House of Representatives. It took almost one month to persuade me to accept the position of deputy governor of Edo State. So, there were no protests; it was persuasion,” Shaibu stated.

He went on to clarify that his decision to accept the position was influenced by the need to bring value to Obaseki’s candidacy, as the governor was not widely known in political circles at the time. 

“Then my supporters and others said, ‘look you have to be there’, and i accepted. Why? To add value to Obaseki’s ticket because Obaseki wasn’t known, and he wasn’t one of the politicians.

“They needed a young vibrant politician that has won election before and that can add political value to the ticket. I was actually persuaded to accept,” he said