Office Relocation: Place Emphasis On Honesty, Not Misleading The People For Political Gains — Shaibu Tells Obaseki

The Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has asked his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki, and his aides to be disciplined enough to say the simple truth always.

Shaibu stated this on Tuesday in response to the claim that he had earlier received an official communication confirming the relocation of his office out of Government House in Benin, the state capital.

Speaking with The Nation on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday, one of Shaibu’s aides said the deputy governor got a memo on Monday afternoon, shortly before official closing hours.

The aide said the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, hurriedly signed the memo, which was dated Friday, September 15, 2023, as a face-saving measure.

According to the aide, the governor should continually place more emphasis on honesty, and not misleading the people for political gain.

He said: “At last, the much-awaited letter from Governor Obaseki, relocating the office of his deputy, Rt. Hon. Shaibu, out of Government House, Benin City, finally came on Monday afternoon, shortly before official closing hours.

“The terse memo signed by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, said he was directed by His Excellency, Governor Obaseki, to relocate the office of the Deputy Governor to No. 7, Osadebey Avenue, GRA, Benin City.

“Surprisingly, the letter dated Friday, September 15, 2023, crawled and finally got to the office of the deputy governor at about the official closing hours on Monday, September 18, 2023.

“The letter was hurriedly written and pushed out in the afternoon of September 18, 2023, as a face-saving measure, following the embarrassment caused the government earlier in the day, when the Deputy Governor was locked out of his office at the Government House, Benin City, without official communication to him.”

The aide also asserted that the embarrassment suffered by the deputy governor was avoidable if Obaseki and his allies had done the right thing.

He said: “Government House, Benin City’s media team (of Obaseki) claimed that the Deputy Governor had since been written to relocate out of Government House, but the letter from Edo SSG put a lie to it.

“It became a ding-dung affair in the last two weeks, as Comrade Shaibu insisted that he was yet to receive official communication relocating his office. Persons holding high offices in trust for the people should be disciplined enough to say simple truth always.”