By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
Edo State Chairman of Labour Party, Lucky Ogbaloi yesterday said the purported suspension of the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, by his Ward 3 Esan North Senatorial Zone in the state is null and void.
He said this to journalists when a delegation from the constituency stormed the party’s national Secretariat in Abuja, Ogbaloi said that it was against the LP constitution for any group to suspend the national chairman who is a product of a national convention.
He explained that “In the constitution of the Labour Party, no state, no local government, no ward has the right or whatsoever to assemble anywhere to suspend a national chairman who is a product of a national convention”.
The state party chairman and leader of the delegation added that “It’s nonsense when a few boys assemble themselves in Abuja and make the pronouncement they made.
“For once, they are not part of the party, they are not at the ward, they are not at the local government and they are not recognized at the state level.
“Those who did it don’t even understand the message they were asked to deliver.
“It may be possible in other political parties but not in the Labour Party. So whatever they have done has no effect on the leadership of the party.
“So we are saying that Barr Julius Abure remains the national chairman of our party and we have since passed a vote of confidence on him and he shall take this party forward.
No reasonable person will come and be talking about the suspension of a chairman who had delivered on the election that we just have concluded”.
On his part, Thompson Ehiguese, the national chairman’s Ward 3 Chairman, stressed that those who suspended Abure are not members of the party.
“I am the ward chairman. We heard that there are some persons impersonating to be the ward chairmen and ward executives of ward 3 Esan North Senatorial zone. I am the chairman of ward 3 in my local government and with me here is my secretary.
“We are here to dismiss the information about the suspension that is not correct. Ward 3, Uromi where the national chairman came from. I am his ward chairman.
“The truth of the matter is that those who claimed to have suspended the national chairman are not members of the party.
Their names are not in our party register. They are not even from Esan and they are not from ward six. We are taking a major action against them. They are impersonators and they will be arrested”.
Others present at the rally are Patrick Obed, the Local Government Chairman for Esan East, Uromi.
He said, “We are here to pay solidarity visit on the National chairman comrade Julius Abure along with other LG chairmen from Edo State
“The recent suspension describes it as a rumour and as a rift. The reason is that he is the national chairman and at the Local Government level we have not suspended him at the ward level and at the senatorial level we have not suspended.
“He has been good to us, he has been working assiduously to move the party forward and I believe those claiming to be members of the party who suspended him, I don’t know them facially they are carrying a black rumour which is a dent on our party.
I believe they are members of the opposition party, they are impostorq to members of our party. They may be sponsored by opposition”.
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