Edo South Senator Blames Labour Party Leadership Crisis For Recent Defections

THE Senator representing Edo South in the senate, Neda Imasuen of the Labour Party (LP) said leadership crisis in the party was responsible for the recent defections in the party insisting that leadership style of the national chairman, Julius Abure which he said was also affecting the party in Edo State.

Imasuen stated this in a chat with journalists where he said he is fully backing the senate’s decision to investigate the issues raised by Rights activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, over the revocation of ownership of a property belonging to her late husband, Col Paul Ogbebor (rtd), in Abuja.

According to him, “All politics are local, I am a member of the Labour and Party and the party is embroiled in one crisis or the other, if you look at the matters seriously, if an election is to be held today, personally I have no platform run because of what is going on in the party even in Edo State.

“As I speak to you, we have two chairmen: we have Ogbaloi (Kelly)which I recognized and then we have another chairman which is recognized by the nation led by Abure which I don’t recognize. I am the highest Labour Party elected official in the whole of South-South, it will interest you to note that all the decisions they have taken, nobody has told me about them and why.

“Abure doesn’t talk to me, I don’t talk to him, we don’t see. This battle started from the nomination period, when we were looking for a candidate for the party, that is when the issue started, he held his ground, I don’t that because you are from a particular place the candidate just come from there, I just felt let whoever win wins, we had our differences and that has been on since.”

On the land issue, Imasuen expressed dissatisfaction with the way and manner the Late Col.Ogbebor’s family handled the matter, said that he was never contacted either through letters or phone calls/sms and that he was surprised to have heard the matter first on National Television even though his office was yet to be inundated with a simple petition on the alleged revocation of ownership of the property belonging to the late Ogbebor.

Imasuen said the proper channel of bringing to his notice the problem was through a petition but claimed he only got wind of the information through the media, which is not the best way forward.

While noting that the NASS had intervened to ensure the property is not demolished pending a full scale investigation by the lawmakers, he said , ” the resolution of the senate on the matter is that not until the matter is fully resolved, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) cannot continue action on the property.

“For me, we have achieved so much progress in that regard and I am very satisfied about that action. Those peddling falsehoods that I was not saying anything on the matter are only ignorant of the workings of the Senate. ” Imasuen said