Edo Dep. Gov Is Responsible Over Invasion Of LP Secretariat – Akpata Alleges

…Says LP will use all available laws to prosecute those involved

By Simeon OSAJIE

Edo State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the September 21 gubernatorial election, Olumide Osaigbovo  Akpata has accused the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Engr. Omobayo Godwins Marvelous as the brain behind the recent invasion of LP State Secretariat with the conniver of the suspended youth leader of the party, Mr. Kenneth Osakpolor Omusi.

Recall Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi, State Chairman of the party at a press conference who claimed that the suspended youth leader, Mr. Kenneth Osakpolor Omusi, along with a group of over 50 individuals, forcibly entered LP State Secretariat under the covering of the Edo State Security Network, subdued the staff available in the office and gained entrance to the party office, claiming that the state executive is dissolved and appointed himself as the Acting Chairman.

Akpata who was unhappy over the development promised to apply all relevant laws to prosecute those involved in the invasion of LP State secretariat.

According to Akpata, “I just wanted to learn my voice and to sound a note of warning to the opposition that we will not tolerate any interference in the activities of our party, and we advised them to prepare themselves to meet us in the field rather than trying to use under hands method to undermine the Labour Party.

“Labour Party is a moving train, anybody who decides to stand the front of the train would do so at his peril.”

He noted: “some of you may be aware that the current Deputy Governor of Edo State was taken from amongst our folds and appointed by the current governor. It will appear that the current deputy governor employed for the purpose must have assured his pay master that Labour Party is decimated and that the party does not exist that once he lives us the party will no longer exist.

“People pretend to be legend in their own mind; he has no such relevance or consequence not in Akoko-Edo, not in Edo State Labour Party. 

“The individual who invaded; who attacked our secretariat – suspended youth leader Ken Omusi – we know what the deputy governor has done. We have pictures, photographic evidence to the effect that they are working together currently. And we know that the incident of the last couple of days is just another part of their script to create the impression that there is chaos in Labour Party. There is no chaos in Labour Party, we are organized and ready to reclaim or claim Osadebay Avenue for the people.

“So we must send out this note of warning, or what is our crime? All we did was to organised a fitness work, that is all we did. Only small fitness we did, from Ring Road to TV road is the course of their actions against Labour Party. This is just a preamble of our readiness.

“So what has happened is that they had gone back to their recent employee to say ‘not be so you will be talk am’, no be you say Labour Party don scattered? So there is now what we call in law ‘buyer’s remorse’, what was promised was not what has to offer. Some people has gone to tell their paymaster that labour party to scatter, Labour party no go scatter instead, na them go scatter.”

Going further, the LP governorship candidate added: “We are ready to play fair because we are sure that the people are with us, and that if the roles of the game as we know them, we will win the elections of September 21, and we will go to Osadebey Avenue in November, because we are with the people and the people are with us.

“However, we are asking the government in power, we’re asking them very nicely to please stay clear from Labour  Party, don‘t come here, we have no room for you.

“This minion who used to be our youth leader, our suspended youth leader working with the deputy governor arrived this premises with officers of the Edo Security Networks, and arrived this premises with police officers attached to government house. “When bird cry for night, pikin die for money, you will forgive me for making certain conclusions.

“So, we are sending a note of warning to those who are orchestrating this confusion that confusion does not exist here in Labour Party. We are clear in our minds where we’re going, Osadebey Avenue direct.

“We will play the game according to the roles and we are calling them to do the same thing, Labour Party is not push over.

“I want to align with Mr. Chairman that we would employ all avenues provided by the law to ensure that these miscreants, those who invaded our secretariat, those who assaulted our staff are brought to book, anything we need to do within the confined of the law, we will use them do example to know that next time ‘dem no go try am’.”

While assuring that LP is resolute that this will not happen again, the governorship candidate noted that the party is ready for election. “We ought to go and be ready too so that we will meet ourselves on the field. All these wen dey do is ‘IGG’ – ‘initial gra gra’. We go no were, no shaking.

“We send a message to our former comrade. The other day, we did fitness work, they now came up that they are about to organise what they called ‘Marvelously Obedient fitness work. We are encouraging our former comrade, dey your lane make we dey our lane, you cannot use us to shine.

“The height that he reached in Labour Party was as a result of the support he have from the people. We wish him well in his five months tenure as Deputy Governor. You cannot destroy Labour Party, so dey your dey make we dey our dey”.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Edo State through his Chief Press Secretary, Victor Adefemi has reacted to Olumide Akpata claim saying that, “ordinarily, the Deputy Governor would have preferred to maintain his silence on the issue but it is expedient for him to react for discerning members not to be misled.”

He said, Barrister Olumide Akpata, threw caution to the wind and went as far as threatening the Deputy Governor of the State.

It is the view of the Deputy Governor that as a renowned lawyer and former NBA President vying for the seat of the number one citizen of the state, Barrister Akpata should show decorum when making public statements.

He said, “Olumide Akpata should not play God who determines political horizons of all mortals. We wonder why he should be making jest of an office someone is holding, even if it is for one month when he and his running mate are seeking to occupy that same office,” he concluded.