Former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Elizabeth Ativie, who is now the Caretaker Chairman of the Labour Party in the state, speaks to ADEYINKA ADEDIPE about the move to reconcile aggrieved members, among other matters
What is the current situation about the opposition to your post as the caretaker chairman of the Edo State LP by the dissolved board?
The situation is clear. The former board has been dissolved by the National Working Committee of the party after being there for 13 years. The constitution of the party allows two terms of six years. So, in the wisdom of the national body, the board was dissolved, we were sworn in, and given a term of reference which we are already working with. The former executives have no legal backing to continue to be in office.
The executives were duly informed at a meeting that was held in Abuja. The chairman of the dissolved executive body, Kelly Ogbaloi, was also given a letter to that effect. The local government chairmen and secretaries are also part of the executive body, and they also seize to function in that capacity. We have carried out our mandate by reconstituting the local government executive body of the party. We will also constitute that of the ward and the unit soon.
What’s your take on your suspension by the executive of your ward and how it acts as a clog in the wheel of the LP’s progress in Edo State?
Nothing will act as a clog to our wheel of progress because in the Labour Party in the state. No law in the party constitution allows a ward chairman to suspend a member. Also, for a state officer to be suspended, it requires votes of two-thirds of the state executive or by convention. So my purported suspension is dead on arrival.
What are you doing to bring the party together after the dissolution of the former board and the gale of suspension that has hit the party?
Since we came on board, we have tried to strengthen the party. The suspension of over 300 members by the former executive members on different WhatsApp platforms has been lifted, and we are also begging other aggrieved members to come and work for the party. We are talking to those who stayed away or were sitting on the fence to rejoin the party. In this situation, the party is paramount and bigger than an individual. If we win at the polls, it is the party that wins and I am sure everyone will want the party to win.
So, we went round to see and plead with all of them. Some leaders of the party who could not work with the former executive members were sitting in their homes. But we have told them that they can’t leave as this is their party. We told them that they had been in this party for several years and built the party to this level. They are all coming out and working for the party in their various local governments and communities.
We are also ensuring that we mobilise our people to take part in the Continuous Voter Registration in the state. We also reached out to all our aspirants. We have about 32 of them and these aspirants will have their followers, relations, friends, and community members. So, you can see the numbers that have gone with them because they did not like the outcome of the primary election.
We call them our major stakeholders and we created a platform where we engage with them. They also give us advice on whatever plan we have. Since we were inaugurated, we have been busy and we want to bring back unity to the party. These leaders see and know so much which makes them very important to the party.
What is your take on the claim that the emergence of the caretaker committee did not follow due process?
The constitution of the party is clear on our emergence. It says the national body will set up the state executive. The NWC dissolved the former board and set up the new committee. What other due process is needed?
Do you think this change of guard with about four months to the election will not negatively affect your party at the poll?
It will help us exceptionally well. As I said earlier, we have gone around to meet several people and bring synergy and hope back to the party. Before now, people were only sitting down and looking at a one-man show that would not bring us results. Everyone needs to be part of the show for success to be achieved. The emergence of the committee has brought value and a lot of people back to the party. Party members have been visiting the new secretariat to seek information and give us their support.
How will you describe your attendance and that of Ogbaloi at the INEC stakeholders’ meeting where you both introduced yourselves as the party chairman in the state?
I was highly embarrassed by that situation. I have reached a stage in my political life where I don’t need that kind of distraction as long as I have agreed to do this task, which I consider herculean. Initially, I did not want to take up the task when I was approached. I said I didn’t want to fight battles anymore as I did in the past. But they begged me to accept the offer because they have looked at the whole space and they chose me because of my experience in politics, which could help rebuild the party in the state.
They knew that the party was at its lowest ebb and they needed an experienced person to help reposition the party. The former executive members were no longer adding value to the party and they didn’t want to leave. As an administrator, if you rise to a level where things become static and you don’t have anything new to bring, you must have to leave. In a developed country, the person resigns to give way for others.
This is not the party that we knew when we were all for Peter Obi in the 2023 election. The people in the ‘Obidient’ Movement have all dispersed and we are now finding ways to bring them back. So, we need a new person to inject fresh ideas into the party. In the eye of the law, the extra seven years the former executive members spent, is null and void. The constitution says three years for a term and when you do well, you get another three years either through reappointment by the NWC or party convention. If I were in the shoes of the former chairman, I would have resigned.
How do you hope to win back the trust of the youths and masses who are LP’s major supporters?
We are working on that. We have also set up a platform mainly for the youths, and I engage with them always. Most of them have agreed to work with me after leading them in the National Youth Council, Edo State chapter before becoming the leader at the national level. Most of them told me they would return to the party based on some conditions and I told them we were ready to meet those conditions. For instance, they said they wanted visibility at the party, which I agreed to. They also want the party to sponsor programmes for them, and I have told the youth leader to bring a proposal for this.
They also want positions in the party and we can co-opt them, and create positions for them as long as they are coming to add value to the system. I don’t need to speak too much about myself because I have performed well as a youth in this state. The young ones following us when I was the NYC chairman in Edo State are now the ones holding sway. That is one of the advantages we have since we came on board. Students and young Rotarians have paid courtesy calls to the new executive and these are the kind of people we want in the party. They will return to their various schools with a message that a new chairman is running the state LP with her executive.
What is the relationship between your executive and the flag bearer of your party, Olumide Akpata?
As soon as we came on board, I called him three times on the phone, which he didn’t take but we have also sent him a letter to extend our olive branch and we are waiting for his response. The campaign is majorly for the candidate, though the party will also give its support. If he invites us to work with him, we will oblige because he is our candidate and we have no other one. In all the speeches I have given since we came on board, I have always asked the people to vote for our candidate. If he wants us, we will work with him and if he doesn’t want us, we will still do our bit as a party to promote him.
I have told everyone who has paid me a courtesy call that only the LP can solve the challenges experienced in the state. When the women came, I told them that for the LP to appoint a woman as the chairman in the state, that means the party recognises them and they are being given a chance to be part of the decision-making process in the party. It is now the turn of the women to repay the LP’s gesture by coming out en masse to support the party and vote for its candidate in September. I have been fighting for women in the state and if I talk to them, I am sure they will listen to me.
How do you hope to establish your authority and maintain discipline while trying to bring aggrieved members back on board?
I understand the reason for this question. The immediate past executive allowed moneybags to hijack the party and dictate to them. But that will never happen under my watch. I think that is why the NWC brought me on board to do this job because I cannot be bought. The party is supreme. The moment you allow individuals to be stronger than the party, you are killing the party. The former President of the United States, Barrack Obama, harped on the need to build institutions and that’s what we are doing now. We are going to establish our authority as the executive body of the LP in the state. No matter how rich a member is, that member will have to adhere to the rules and regulations of the party.
What are you doing about the court cases against your candidate?
It is part of what we have to work on. We will try and convince those that have gone to court to drop their cases. We will ask them what they want the party to do because we cannot go to the poll in this situation.
What factors made you leave the APC?
They have no respect for women and they make no provision for them. Women showed interest in all the elective positions but they were not considered even though they had capacity more than the men who were favoured. Everything was becoming heavily monetised. The men were allocating the House of Representatives ticket among themselves in Orhionmwom and Uhunmwonde, my constituency.
Are you not bothered that politics is becoming highly monetised and political parties are trying to buy voters?
Edo people are now mature. You can throw money around for primaries but not the main election. How many people can you give money to? Will you just go to a centre that has 2,000 voters and start giving out money to them? How much do you think you can spend? It has happened in previous elections where people spent billions of naira and they were already celebrating because they thought they had won. But they were disappointed when the results were announced. The way this election will go, it will surprise many people and I am sure the Labour Party will win.
Do you think giving the female aspirants nomination and interest forms will boost the chances of having an elected female government soon?
I consider this as tokenism and that will not help women in politics. I will prefer paying for the forms and allowing a free and fair primary election. If the men pay for the form and women get it free, it gives the man an advantage because he will be favoured by the party hierarchy. Any woman who seeks an elective post should be able to pay for the forms.
How have you been able to rise in politics?
I have always fought for my successes and I don’t have any godfather. I went to the House of Assembly three times, the court removed me once and my people told me not to worry that when the time comes, they will show those who removed me that they sent me. When I had another chance to contest, I didn’t spend money and my people voted for me to return to the Assembly.
What message do you have for your party members and those who may want to vote for your candidate?
My message to them is that whatever is annoying them, they should please put it behind them because of the party and work assiduously to win this election. The LP is the party to beat.
