Ezekiel Awojide, Abuja
Former Deputy Governor of Edo, Philip Shaibu, says the defections of politicians into the ruling All Progressive Congress was a vindication of his stands.
He said that the defections of the Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, and all his appointees and immediate past governor Ifeanyi Okowa were an eye-opener to many who had not seen it coming.
Shaibu, who disclosed this on Friday in Abuja, said that he foresaw and predicted this scenario while still in the PDP a few years back but was misunderstood.
“I remember when I was leaving the PDP some of you asked me why I was leaving, and I said, I do not see a future of PDP in Nigeria because of the way the players are handling the party.
“The players were not democratic. The leadership was not democratic, and I shouted, and then I was asked to keep quiet.
“This is because the players that I see in charge of the party and the way I see things happening does not show what PDP actually stands for.
“I predicted that in less than one year, as at that time, if they don’t change, the PDP will be history in Nigeria, then I was still a member of the party. So, it’s not like I was not a PDP member.’’
The former deputy governor and one-time House of Representatives member said that what was happening to the PDP was not about the party but the players.
According to him, when you don’t feel a sense of belonging, with certain cabal feeling they are in charge and the owners of the party, then that should be seen as a red flag.
“Nobody is the owner of any party. In all the parties in Nigeria, nobody can claim ownership because, at a particular given time, leadership emerges, and that leadership cannot be forever. It’s always temporary for all parties.
‘’So that’s why I predicted then. I also said then that even the governors I see, I don’t see most of them remaining in the party, because some of them, I’m close to them, and I hear, and I see, and I feel what they feel.
“Some of the feelings I have, they also share the same feeling. I see more governors leaving. No progressive governor can remain in the PDP.
“I salute the courage of the Delta governor, and I say the wisest decision he has taken in his political career is what he did on Wednesday.
