THE crisis rocking the national leadership of the Labour Party (LP) surfaced in Benin City, Edo State on Friday as two officials of the party with one identified as Anslem Eragbe and another whose identity could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report were seen in a viral video being beaten by some group of people in an unknown location but houses and vehicles could be sighted.
While Eragbe who was dressed in white apparel was seen being beaten by about five people on the ground with some seen hitting him with their legs and other items with his clothes torn and leaving him with a stained top and underwear, another on a blue address was seen sitting on the ground gesticulating with some people standing around him.
It was gathered that they were in Benin to implement the timetable allegedly released by the Lamidi Apapa faction of the LP which was planning to organise a meeting to elect delegates that would participate in their primary election.
A voice could be heard in the background shouting “una get mind enter Benin” repeatedly.
Reacting to the development, the state publicity Secretary of the party, Samson Uroupa, described the suspects who he said are not members of the party as impostors, and that they were causing trouble in the party
He called on security agencies in the state to arrest anybody laying claim to a faction in the LP and maintained that the issue of faction has been dealt with by the supreme court.
He said: “We think if there is anybody still laying claim to a faction in the party, the security agencies should arrest such persons because the supreme court has laid that matter to rest.
“Anybody going in any guise to purportedly conduct primary election or whatever, should be arrested by the security agencies. That is our stand. Because, Labour Party is one
“The people are impostors and are not members of the Labour Party. They are just out there to ferment trouble.
“Maybe it is the opposition parties that are the ones sponsoring them. Maybe because of the fear of the soaring popularity and acceptance of the Labour Party in Edo State”, he alleged
On the purported election time table by the Apapa faction of the party, the state chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi, advised members of the public to disregard any purported notice claiming “Time-Table and Schedule of activities for the Labour Party Re-Run, Bye-Elections with Edo and Ondo Gubernatorial Primaries 2024”.
He said that such notice never emanated from the national secretariat of the party as it has not released guidelines for the nomination of the party’s candidate for the Edo State 2024 governorship election.
He said the Dr Abayomi Arabambi who issued the purported guidelines and timetable for the Labour Party in respect of the Edo State Labour Party gubernatorial primaries is not a member of Labour Party.
It would be recalled that a governorship aspirant of the party, Olumide Akpata recently expressed worries that a few weeks before the conduct of the party primary, guidelines had not been released by the national leadership of the party.
