Philip Shaibu kneels before Oshiomhole after defecting to APC

In a dramatic political turnaround on Saturday, Philip Shaibu, the reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, publicly knelt before Senator Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City.

This gesture came moments after Shaibu announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) back to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Shaibu, whose recent impeachment was overturned by a federal high court, has now rejoined the APC after a four-year absence. His return marks a significant shift in alliances, especially given his previous departure alongside Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is now his political rival.

During the inauguration of the APC governorship campaign council, Shaibu, who hails from the same Uzairue clan in Etsako West Local Government Area with Oshiomhole, knelt before him, smiling.

News360 Nigeria reports that Oshiomhole is often credited with Shaibu’s political success. Shaibu was elected to the Edo State House Assembly in 2007, leveraging Oshiomhole’s influence when the latter ran for governor under the defunct Action Congress. Oshiomhole, then serving as governor, also played a significant role in Shaibu’s re-election to the Edo Assembly in 2011 and his elevation to the House of Representatives in 2015.

Shaibu was later chosen as Obaseki’s running mate in the 2016 Edo governorship election, where they emerged victorious under the APC ticket.

However, Shaibu and Obaseki fell out with Oshiomhole before the 2020 Edo gubernatorial election, prompting their defection from the APC to the PDP, where they again clinched victory.

The fallout between Shaibu and Obaseki with Oshiomhole was also said to have contributed to Oshiomhole losing his chairmanship of the APC in 2020, which significantly diminished Shaibu’s political influence in the Edo North senatorial district.

Before Shaibu’s formal return to the APC on Saturday, Oshiomhole had stated that the party was not a refuge for political “internally displaced persons,” even as some party’s members in Jattu, where the reinstated deputy governor hails from, protested against his return to the APC.