By Marvellous Nyang
July 20, 2024
Philips Shaibu, the embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Saturday, leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The announcement came during the inauguration of the APC’s National Campaign Council for the upcoming 21 September governorship election in Benin.
Shaibu, along with members of the PDP legacy coalition group, made his defection public at the event, which was attended by APC national chairman Umar Ganduje and other key figures from the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Ganduje welcomed Shaibu, expressing confidence that the APC would win the governorship election.
At the event, Shaibu was greeted warmly by Adams Oshiomhole, a former Edo governor, whom Shaibu referred to as a father figure.
Earlier in the week, a Federal High Court in Abuja overturned Shaibu’s impeachment and reinstated him as Edo’s deputy governor.
The impeachment, supported by Governor Godwin Obaseki, had been linked to Shaibu’s ambitions to succeed him.
