Philip Shaibu, the reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and rejoined the All Progressive Congress (APC). He announced his defection during the APC Edo State inauguration of the National Working Committee for the upcoming governorship election meeting on Saturday, July 20.

Shaibu, 54, was officially welcomed back into the APC by the party’s National Organising Secretary.

This move follows Shaibu’s accusation on Friday, July 19, that Governor Godwin Obaseki had barred him from entering the state. Speaking on Channels Television’s “Politics Today,” Shaibu mentioned that, despite a Federal High Court in Abuja reinstating him as deputy governor, he was still denied access to the state.

Shaibu expressed his outrage, stating, “Yesterday, I got intel that the governor has told his men that they must not allow me into town. I am a free-born of Edo State, nobody can stop me from entering Edo State. The constitution does not allow anybody to bar me from entering Edo State, not even when I am a deputy governor. Even if I am an ordinary citizen, I should have a right. I should have freedom.”

Shaibu also claimed that when he announced his candidacy for the PDP governorship ticket in November 2023, Obaseki threatened to ruin him. Additionally, he accused the governor of organizing an attack on his convoy on Thursday, July 18, which resulted in the death of a police officer in Benin City. Shaibu believes this attack was a direct consequence of Obaseki’s earlier threat.