The crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Labour Party has taken a new dimension with the suspension of the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Elizabeth Ativie, over alleged gross misconduct and insubordination.
The decision was taken on Saturday evening at an enlarged meeting of the State Working Committee which was attended by local government chairmen and secretaries of the party.
The development is coming less than one week after she was sworn in as caretaker Chairman of LP in the state by the National leadership of the party after the dissolution of the state exco led by Kelly Ogbaloi.
At the meeting, the Chairman of the party in Ativie’s Uhunmwonde Local Government, Aghedo Okhiongbamwonyi said the leadership of Ativie’s Ward 4 had handed out the suspension.
He then presented a letter dated May 4th which conveyed Ativie’s suspension to the leadership of LP in the Local Government.
The letter was endorsed by Charles Usiesefe and Mike Ighile, the ward chairman and secretary respectively.
In the letter, the party leadership cautioned her to restrain from holding out or parading herself as a member of LP.
Also, a letter dated May 30th which affirmed her suspension by the local government was tendered before the enlarged meeting of the SWC.
Responding, Ativie said she remains the authentic state chairman of the part and was not aware of any meeting suspending her.
She said, “They should know that by the constitution of the Labour Party, no ward or local government chairman has the authority to suspend anybody or the chairman”
“It is dead on arrival, I am the current state Labour Party chairman in Edo state”.
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