Edo LP suspends chairman of transition committee, Ativie refutes measure

The ongoing crisis rocking the Edo State branch of the Labour Party continued on Saturday with the suspension of former Speaker of the state House of Representatives, Most Rev. Elizabeth Ativie, who also served as the Chairman of the state Transition Committee.

However, the suspension of Ativie was ratified during the State Working Committee (SWC) meeting attended by the chairmen of the LGAs and their secretaries.

The party justified its decision by accusing the suspended interim chairman of gross misconduct and insubordination.

This happened barely a week after she was sworn in by the national party leadership as acting chairperson of the LP in the state.

The chairman of the LP in Ativie Uhunmwonde Local Government, Mr Aghedo Okhiongbamwonyi, said the leadership of their fourth district had issued the suspension.

Okhiongbamwonyi submitted a letter dated May 4 to the LGA announcing the suspension of the controversial Ativie.

The letter was signed by Charles Usiesefe and Mike Ighile, the District Chairman and the District Secretary respectively.

In the letter, the party leadership asked them to exercise restraint and not to pretend or show off as members of the LP.

In addition, a letter dated 30 May confirming their suspension by the local government was presented to the expanded session of the SWC.

Meanwhile, Ativie has refuted her alleged suspension by the State Working Committee, stressing that such a measure was “doomed to failure from the start.”

She stated that she remained the legitimate state chair of the party and that she was not aware of any meeting during which she had been suspended.

“You should know that under the Labour Party constitution, no district or local authority leader has the power to suspend anyone or the leader.”

“It is doomed from the start. I am the current state chairman of the Labour Party in Edo State,” she said.