From LP to PDP: Tracing the emergence of Nigeria’s youngest Deputy Governor in Edo
Nigeria’s political landscape has a new young star. Omobayo Godwins, a 38-year-old engineer, has been sworn in as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.
Young Nigerians have described his emergence as a victory of the “Not Too Young To Run Bill” as one of their constituents is now the number two man in Edo State.
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration signed the Not Too Young To Run Bill into law in 2018 to enable outstanding and resourceful young Nigerians to participate in governance.
The newly appointed Deputy Governor attained the highest office in his political career hours after Philip Shaibu, his predecessor, was impeached by the State’s House of Assembly at a plenary session on Monday, April 8, 2024.
Shaibu, who has been battling for political survival after he fell out with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki, for declaring his intention to join the forthcoming governorship race, was removed for allegedly divulging the state’s official secrets to the public.
The 38-year-old was sworn in amid fanfare on Monday to fill the leadership vacuum created by the exit of the embattled Shaibu. In his recent interview with Channels Television, he described his appointment as an “act of God.”
Mr Godwins hails from Akoko Edo Local Government. He was the Labour Party’s House of Representatives candidate for Akoko Edo Federal Constituency in the 2023 general elections but was defeated by Peter Akpatason of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Not satisfied with the result, he approached the Election Petition Tribunal, but the court reaffirmed Akpatason’s victory. However, a few months later, he dumped the LP to join the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where Governor Godwin Obaseki handpicked him to deputize him.
He’s grounded in grassroots politics and is trusted and revered by his people, whom he mobilises for a common cause.
Born July 19, 1986, the Edo Deputy Governor holds a B.Eng Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and an MSc in Public Administration from the prestigious University of Benin (UNIBEN). Experts say being an administrator makes his appointment the right peg in the right hole.
The former LP member is a formally recognised member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). Before his appointment, he was a Senior Maintenance Engineer at Dresser Wayne West Africa Limited.
While Omobayo Godwins is the youngest serving deputy governor in Nigeria presently, many predict he could be up for bigger things in the days ahead.
