The reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, on Sunday, said the fight against his impeachment was to protect the office of the deputy governor in the country which has been ridiculed since the return of democracy in 1999.
He added that his reinstatement was evidence that God was fighting for him.
Shaibu, speaking on Sunday after a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Benin, described the court judgment nullifying his impeachment and reinstating him to office as victory is for democracy.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja had last week ruled that Shaibu’s impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly was illegal.
The judge reinstated Shaibu and ordered the Inspector General of Police to provide him with the necessary security that would enable him to discharge the functions of his office.
Shaibu, speaking on Sunday, said it was disheartening that some governors had continued to treat their deputy with disdain despite winning election into office on the same ticket.
He said it was time the National Assembly enacted a law to protect the office of deputy governor from the whims of the governor.
Shaibu said, “My fight to be reinstated is for all the people occupying the office in the country. The office has been ridiculed since the return of democracy in 1999.
“I will continue to fight to make sure that sanity and respect are brought back to that office. All I am doing is not to earn anything but to make sure that the sanity of the office of the deputy governor is restored in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“What other deputy governors cannot fight against, I will fight on their behalf so that governors will start respecting that office.”
He described his court victory as an answer to his prayers.
“I challenged God and I told Him that I wanted him to prove His power in my life, that people that are anti-God and anti-democracy were at it again and they wanted to use me as a scapegoat. I told God to show to the world that I am truly his son.
(PUNCH)