Labour Party: Edo State Exco Sacked After Endorsing Abure’s Suspension

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

There seems to be no end in sight to the crisis rocking the Edo State Chapter of the Labour Party, LP, as the party’s national leadership, yesterday, constituted a 17-man caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the party in the state.

Thisday reports that the move came after the Kelly Ogbaloi-led state executive committee endorsed the suspension of the national chairman of the party, Barrister Julius Abure.

The committee is headed by a former speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Elizabeth Ativie.

She was also a House of Representatives candidate, though in controversial circumstances, in the 2023 general polls.

The committee was inaugurated by the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ayo Olorunfemi, at a hotel in Benin City, in the early hours of yesterday.

While administering the oath of office on the members, Dr. Olorunfemi said the new leadership of the party in Edo State is necessitated by the expiration of the tenure of the Kelly Ogbaloi-led executive council in April 2024.

He said the committee is expected to take charge of the affairs of the party until a fresh congress is held to elect a new executive in the state.

He disclosed that LP appointed Mrs. Ativie as chairperson of the committee due to her positive and result-oriented track record in all her political positions so far.

He called for unity in the party and assured that the party will be more united in Edo State with Ativie.

Responding, Ativie promised to move the party to a higher level in the state and reconcile all aggrieved members. She promised to raise a reconciliation team to resolve all pending issues in the party.

In response on the sacking of the Edo State Executive, the Edo Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Samson Uroupa, said that the development was not in the interest of the majority of members of the party in the state, saying, “the exco of the party in Edo State remains intact.”

Contending that the dissolution of the state executive committee would not stand, Uroupa said the decision was capable of breeding more crisis in the party, which he argued would not help the LP in its election quest in Edo

It will be recalled that the Edo State Chapter of the party, led by Kelly Ogbaloi, recently endorsed the suspension of the Labour Party National Chairman, Mr. Julius Abure.”