The battle of wits between the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu took a new twist on Monday as the deputy was denied access to his office inside the Government House, Benin City.
It was reported that Shaibu got to his office on Monday morning and met the gate leading to his office under lock and key.
The embattled deputy governor and his aides waited for about one hour and thereafter left.
Shaibu also made frantic phone calls to his principal, Governor Andrew Obaseki to no avail.
Sources revealed that Shaibu had some discussions with the State’s Commissioner of Police and the Director of State Security Services, DSS, alerting them of how he was locked out from his office.
He was said to have summoned the Government House camp commandant, SP Ibrahim Babatunde and asked him why he was locked out of his office. These Police officer said it was a directive from above, adding that the Chief Security Officer, CSO, in the Government House, Wabba Williams will be in a better position to explain.
Shaibu put calls to Williams and promised to come but never showed up all through the waiting of Shaibu at the gate.
“Up till now, I don’t have any official communication that I should relocate. The only people that have official communication are my civil servants. The civil servants have official communication but I don’t. As I am speaking to you now, I am standing by the gate”, he said while on a phone call to a yet-to-be-identified person.
Last week, a letter said to be from the office of the Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa was sent to the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor, directing Shuaibu to relocate to a new office situated at No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, GRA, Benin City.
Recall that about two weeks ago, a signboard sprang up at the former State Procurement Office, showing the Deputy Governor’s workplace some few meters away from the Government House, but Shaibu insisted that he was not informed of the development.