According to a letter to that effect that was released on Tuesday morning and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, the drama surrounding the transfer of Edo State deputy governor, comrade Philip Shaibu’s office outside the government house may have come to an end.
On Monday, when he was locked out, Shaibu denied knowing that his office had been moved, pointing out that he had not received a letter ordering him to vacate the government house property for another site.
The troubled deputy governor added that only public servants received a letter instructing them to move into the new office.
Governor Godwin Obaseki has ordered the Shaibu to move to the new office address, according to Ogie’s letter to the deputy governor.
The letter, which was dated September 15, 2023, was received by a permanent secretary in the deputy governor’s office and acknowledged on September 18, 2023, a Monday.
The memo’s “Relocation of Office Accommodation” title states: “I write to notify you that His Excellency, the Governor, has approved the relocation of your office accommodations to No. 7 Dennis Osadebey Avenue, G.R.A., Benin City.
“Therefore, we kindly ask that you ensure your compliance in accordance with Mr. Governor’s approval.”
Shaibu and his boss, Governor Godwin Obaseki, had a falling out when the deputy governor filed a lawsuit in an Abuja Federal High Court earlier in August, asking for the court’s protection from the governor’s alleged plot to impeach him using the Edo State House of Assembly and others.
In response to the lawsuit, the governor quickly relocated the deputy governor’s office from the main Government House and disbanded his media team.
Shaibu withdrew the case from court three weeks ago as a result of some significant state residents from the political and religious spheres intervening.
Any optimism for a reconciliation was dashed on Monday, though, when Shaibu was unable to enter the premises because the gate to his office was shut.
