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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) took a comical turn on Friday, as two people laid claim to the position of the party’s chairman at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ahead of th September 21 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 Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi, whose exco committee in the state was also 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 the LP chairman sitting next to each other.
Ativie, who was the first to introduce herself, said: “I am Rt Hon. 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 has assured the 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 said.
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 been registered to collect the over 200,000 PVCs.
Yakubu called on political parties and their candidates, who are mobilising the public for registration to also do the same for PVC collection.
the INEC chairman said that providing security during the election rests on the police as they are in charge of internal security, in synergy with other security agents.