“We think that the Edo state house of Assembly, if it exists, should investigate if these decisions of the governor against his deputy fall within the Jurisdiction of decisions made in an atmosphere of ‘unsound mind’ in which case if the legislators determine that the quality of such decisions can be so classified to have possibly originated from ‘directives emanating from an unsound mind’, they should impeach the governor.”

With these extreme words, Civil Rights Advocacy Group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA condemned the video trending on internet which shows a distraught Comrade Philip Shaibu, Deputy Governor of Edo State, making frantic calls when he met the gate to his government house office firmly chained.

HURIWA calls the decision to prevent Shaibu from gaining access to his office, as “irritating pettiness” by Governor Godwin Obaseki in his actions towards his deputy and describes it as “unnecessary executive antagonism.”

HURIWA in the statement issued by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, is therefore urging the Edo State House of Assembly to launch a probe into the issues that has plagued the relationship between Obaseki and his deputy governor.

“We have read series of stories in the media regarding the unacceptable level of pettiness that has become the governance modus operandi of the Edo State Governor His Excellency Godwin Obaseki particularly with regards to his absolute disrespect for the office of the Deputy Governor of Edo State occupied by virtue of a joint ticket by His Excellency Comrade Philip Shaibu.

“The two actions that speak to this act of treachery is that of expulsion of the Deputy Governor out of the premises of the Government House in Benin City to a street flooded by muddied and dirty latrine water.

“And secondly, the refusal of the security officers attached to the Government House to grant access to the Deputy Governor and thus presenting the high office of the Deputy Governor as that of an unwanted irritant when in fact there can’t be the office of state Governor without that of Deputy Governor.” HURIWA exclaimed!