On Wednesday, Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu expressed his desire to run for governor in 2024, citing the need to return administration to the people.
Speaking with journalists at his mansion during his yearly reception of media practitioners in Benin, the deputy governor stated that if elected governor, he will collaborate with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council on an affordable housing project for the state’s members.
Shaibu stated that civil personnel, including journalists, are constantly anxious as they near retirement age because they rarely have their own homes to retire to.
He said, “We need to bring governance back to the people, this spurred my desire to vie for the governorship in 2024. We are taking our state back and we are returning government to our people.
“We are taking it from the elite and back to the downtrodden because the truth is that the government is for all of us because in advance countries, the rich pay more taxes to be able to service the system.
“We want to return back to what it is , the downtrodden and the real Edo people must feel government and that is why I am contesting this election.
“I am contesting it to return it back to the people and fortunately, I am in the party that believes in the people and I can tell you when I speaking, I am not speaking the words of Philip, I am speaking because God has given me the authority to speak and I am telling you it will come to pass and it is not coming to pass because of me but because of all of us.”
He added, “By the grace of God, as governor of Edo State, next year, I will make sure that what we have been struggling to get and we have not gotten, housing, I will make it available for all of us in the NUJ.
” I discovered also that majority of our civil servants and public servants, when retirement is getting close, you see, some of them start having high blood pressure, some of them become moody, and it is like the world is coming to an end and when you try to find out from some of them, some of them will tell you, when I retire now, how am I going to be paying my rent?
“Number one of their priority is always rent because some of them have not been able to built shelters for themselves and they are going into retirement and they are not sure of what is going to happen next and for me, I think that aspect has to be taken care of.
“So, as NUJ, we will partner to make sure that housing is available and affordable for you.”