By Seyi Odewale
The festering crisis between the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, yesterday got worse when the deputy governor was locked out of the Government House.
Shaibu was shocked when he got to his office yesterday and found out that the gate to the office of the deputy governor and the main entrance leading to the storey building was locked with chains and heavy padlocks.
While he and his aides waited for about an hour before leaving, Shaibu, during the period, reportedly made frantic efforts to reach the governor, but the governor reportedly refused to pick his deputy’s calls.
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An aide to the deputy governor, who made the pictures available to the public but prefers not to be named, disclosed that his principal had some discussions with the Commissioner of Police and the Director, Department of State Services (DSS), to alert them of how he was locked out of his office.
“I’m in front of the office now and the gate is locked. The governor said they should lock it, that they are using the office for something else. I have not moved anywhere. Nobody has given me any letter to move anywhere. Nobody has given me a letter. If the governor says I’ve moved, I have not moved. The governor did not give me any letter.
“Nobody has given any letter to move. So, how can I move out of my office? I’m here now and the gate is padlocked. I’ve called the governor, he’s not picking his calls, so, you call the governor and tell him,” Shaibu said while making his calls as shown in a viral video on social media.
According to him, there was no official communication to the effect that the deputy governor’s office had been locked.
Shaibu was consequently said to have summoned the Camp Commandant at the Government House, Ibrahim Babatunde, a Police Superintendent (SP), to query why he was locked out of his office.
“He said it was a directive from above, adding that the CSO in Government House, Wabba Williams, will be in a better position to explain,” the aide said.
Shaibu was said to have put calls to Williams, who promised to come to the scene. However, the CSO never came all through the period Shaibu waited.
