After months of feuding, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has finally accepted the public apology by his “aberrant” deputy, Philip Shaibu.
The governor accepted that to err is human and to forgive is divine.
Obaseki spoke yesterday in Benin, the state capital, but was silent on whether or not he would allow Shaibu to return to his official office in the Government House where he was ejected on Monday and relocated to 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue in the Government Reservation Area (GRA).
He said,
“I have noted the public apology made by the Deputy Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Comrade Philip Shaibu. This apology followed an aberrant behaviour that contradicts what the people of Edo State stand for.
“To name a few, the deputy governor needlessly filed unfounded petitions in the Nigerian courts, restraining me, the State House of Assembly, and security agencies from a non-existent impeachment process, followed by repeated breaches of protocol; unwarranted and unprovoked attacks in the media on my person and the state government.
“The media frenzy, as a result of the above and more, provided an impression of crises that have been precarious and distasteful to Edo people in the state and across the world.
“Although these unwarranted provocations caused me severe personal discomfort, as a person of faith, I am under obligation to accept this apology, because, as they say, to err is human, to forgive is divine.
“In good faith, I trust that the public apology, as expressed by the deputy governor, is genuine and followed by contrite steps to improve his conflict-resolution skills. I also enjoin the deputy governor to guide his proxies to act in accordance with his piety.
“It is my sincere hope and that of my other colleagues in government and all well-meaning Edo people that this rhetoric will be put to an end forthwith to enable this administration finish strong and deliver the dividends of democracy to the greatest number of Edo people over these final 12 months.”
Shaibu, on September 21, pleaded with Obaseki to forgive him, saying he was sorry.
The embattled deputy governor confessed that he missed his boss.