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Says Edo must be saved from Business men wanting to hijack ot
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Deputy Governor of Edo State and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirant, Hon Philip Shaibu has revealed that he is used to winning elections when seriously intimidated and harassed before such elections.
Hon Shiabu made the revelation on Thursday when he came to submit his nomination form at the PDP headquarters in Abuja.
This is as he disclosed that his ambition to govern Edo State is majorly to save the state from businessmen who are trying to take over the state, after successfully dealing with the issue of ‘godfatherism’ in the State.
Hon. Shaibu recalled that his journey to rescue Edo state started in 2006 and that he was conscious of what he wanted to achieve.
Disclosing that he and some persons in the state have been harassed and received a lot of intimidation, the Deputy-Governor said, “I am not looking ruffled because I know the result from the beginning. When I will win an election, I know.
“When I am not intimidated, that means that that election will not be successful.
“The intimidation and harassment show the character of my victory. When you don’t intimidate me, I don’t win an election”, he stated.
Continuing, Shaibu said, “I am contesting for governor today, not because Philip Shaibu has inordinate ambition, but my ambition is to save Edo state from businessmen that now want to take over the state.
“We have already dealt with the issue to godfatherism, but it is rearing its ugly head again. I am happy that the governor had told us that even if he tries to bring somebody as a godfather that we should deal with him”, he said.
Shaibu, a former member of the House of Representatives added, “We started the journey of rescuing Edo state in 2006 and we were conscious of what we wanted to achieve. We said that we needed to take our state back and return it to the people and we did take the state back and returned it to the people.
“Along the line, something happened and the state is about to be hijacked again and we said no.
“This election is another challenge, they want to take the state from Edo people and return it to Businessmen and we are saying no, because Edo state cannot return to Egypt.
“Edo state will continually move forward and the only way it can move forward is if power resides with the people. PDP says Power to the People not power to business friends or business colleagues.
“I will tell the leadership of PDP that some of us have been harassed, I have received a lot of intimidation but fortunately for me, it is like a cross that God has asked me to carry.
“All my life has been a life of harassment and intimidation but in all the intimidations, I have always come out successful.
“This PDP primary is also going to be the same because now, they are buying people. They have bought all the elders but they have not been able to buy the youths.
“All the elders, they have bought them except the elders that have they youths in mind. This is another challenge. It will get to a time when the money they are using to buy those guys, they will bring some of the money to me and I will use some of them to campaign so that PDP will win”, he said.
While receiving the nomination form from the Deputy Governor, the PDP Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Hon. Pascal Adigwe harped on the need for peace among the aspirants as they go into the campaign for the party’s primaries.
Adigwe said, “we have your (Shaibu’s) records, we know you as we know others. It is our hope and belief that in this race, you will run it well.
“We are only begging, let there be peace. Let us go into the primary’s and ultimately the election, putting peace in front.
“You know that we are not scared of the other side of peace but please let us go peacefully.
“Secondly, let us consider the wishes of the people we want to govern. How do they want to be governed? We can craft our aspirations and ambitions around what the people want.
“Thirdly, extra commitment, extra unity of purpose, extra struggle cannot be over emphasized. So we are begging, hold our party strong.
“You are not new in contesting election, we are not new in encountering you, so you know what to do and you know that in the elections that you have contested in the past, you have always won, meaning that someone has also always lost and the person didn’t die.
“So, elections can be won or lost depending on how God wants it.
All I am asking is, you win you stay, you lose you stay”, he said.
