The crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party reared its head and took a comical turn on Friday as two people claimed to be the party chairman at a stakeholder meeting organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the 21 September governorship election in the state.
The two chairmen were Elizabeth Ativie who was recently sworn in as caretaker committee chairman by the Julius Abure-led national leadership of the party, while the other is Kelly Ogbaloi, who is an exco in the committee dissolved by Abure.
The stakeholders meeting which was chaired by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, was to meet with the leadership of the various political parties participating in the election.
The comic side of the meeting began when the chairmen of the parties present were called upon to introduce themselves with the two claiming to be LP chairman sitting next to each other.
Ativie who was the first to introduce herself, said, “I am Right Honourable Elizabeth Uyimwen Ativie. By the grace of God, I am the youngest and the latest chairman in town, the Chairman of Labour Party, Edo State.”
As soon as she finished introducing herself, Ativie attempted to give the microphone to another person, but Ogbaloi grabbed the microphone from her to introduce himself, saying, “I am Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi, Chairman, Labour Party, Edo State.”
No sooner than the two fractional chairmen introduced themselves, other attendees burst into laughter with the same thing occurring during the interactive session.
Meanwhile, Yakubu assured the political parties of a level playing field during the election, saying the commission has no candidate in the election.
“INEC has no candidate in this election and we are not a political party. The last two elections in the state were won by two different political parties and the next election will be won by one of the parties sitting here.
“We are following what is happening in Edo in terms of preparation for the election and the activities of political parties. I must commend political parties for the peace they have conducted themselves so far.
“Political parties and their candidates should obey the rules of the game. violence doesn’t pay anyone. So, you should ensure that the build-up to the election is peaceful and the conclusion is peaceful too.”
He noted that only the people of Edo can determine who becomes their next governor, stating that the real challenge is the unwillingness of the people who have already been registered to collect the over 200,000 PVCs.
He called on political parties and their candidates, who are mobilizing the public for registration to also do the same for PVC collection.
Yakubu said that providing security during the election rests on the Nigeria Police as they are in charge of internal security, in synergy with other security agents.
