The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu was on Monday locked out of the State Government House.
The deputy governor who arrived at the Government House around 8 am met the gate leading to his office locked. He made efforts to gain entrance into the premises which was futile.
Shaibu then put a call through to a government official telling the person at the other end that he did not get a letter to relocate to another office, noting that it was only the civil servants in his office who were served letters.
He denied knowledge of the relocation of his office outside the government house.
He was also said to have summoned the Government House Camp Commandant identified as Ibrahim Babatunde, a Superintendent of Police, and asked him why he was locked out of his office.
Babatunde was said to have told the deputy governor that it was a directive from above, adding that the CSO of Government House, Williams Wabba would be in a better position to explain.
According to a source, the that the gate leading to the deputy governor’s office was locked with no one around to open the door for him.
The source said, “The Deputy Governor was here this (Monday) morning and the gate leading to his office was locked and there was no one to open it for him. I think his office has also been shut because of the new office he was told to move to outside the government house.
“He waited for almost 30 minutes before he left. I don’t know if he had gone to his new office but he was not allowed to move into the one in the government house.”
An aide to Obaseki, name withheld, said the deputy governor only came to the government house to make trouble.
The aide said, “He only came to make trouble. There is nothing like him being locked out of his office. His office was relocated over two weeks ago and he (Shaibu) posted a story about that. People should ask him why he came to the Government House today (Monday) to make trouble. He was forcing himself into an office that was not his own. He came here to make trouble. His office is elsewhere, if he had gone there and he was locked out then it would be an issue. He came to the government house purposely to come and cause trouble”
The Monday issue with the Deputy Governor may be connected to the rift between him and Obaseki which began when Shaibu instituted a suit to stop the governor and the State House of Assembly from impeaching him.
Obaseki responded by moving the office of Shaibu outside the Government House on 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, close to the Government House.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
