Edo State Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu yesterday pledged absolute loyalty to Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The deputy governor described the governor as his elder brother and boss.
This is in spite of the anti-impeachment suit he filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Shaibu said this while addressing reporters at the New Festival Hall of Government House in Benin, the state capital, during an interdenominational thanksgiving service to mark the 60th Midwest referendum and 32nd anniversary of the creation of Edo from the defunct Bendel State.
He said,
“My loyalty to Edo governor remains absolute. I see that everybody is doing solidarity. I am also in solidarity with the governor. I am also declaring my unalloyed solidarity and loyalty to the governor.
“As for the issues that were around town when I was away (in the United States of America), I really would not want to talk. Issues that concern my governor are not things I like to speak about. He is my elder brother and boss. I do not think I should talk about anything.
“If I have issues with him (Obaseki), it is better settled at home and not in the media. I am well brought up.
“I can tell you that from my Christian background, if you make a vow with God that you want to do something, you must fulfill it. And the vow I have taken with God is that I will continue to support Godwin Obaseki as the governor of Edo State, from the beginning to the end.
“But that does not stop anything that has to do with ambition. Ambition is personal, and it does not affect loyalty. My loyalty to the governor remains absolute.”
Shaibu, who hails from Edo North Senatorial District, has expressed his ambition to succeed Obaseki, who is from Edo South senatorial district, on November 12 next year.
But the governor is opting for a successor from Edo Central to ensure fairness, equity and justice.