Human rights activist and leader of the Labour Party, Dr Patrick Osagie Eholor has taken the Edo State LP Chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi to the cleaners.
Eholor in letter, sent to Jungle-Journalist.Com, accused Ogbaloi of connivance with the All Progressives Congress APC and Peoples Democratic Party PDP in order to destroy the party.
The open letter, which he sent all the way from China where he has gone for business, also appealed to the party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi to intervene and call the Edo leadership of the party to order even as Obi is expected to visit the state for local government and councillorship campaigns.
The document read in parts “Good day Obi-Datti supporters. I am happy that Peter Obi is coming to Edo State to campaign. But I need to express myself before he arrives. I am presently in China but nevertheless, I wish him a safe trip to Edo, especially Benin City, where you have the Ogidigan, Omon Oba Atokpeghe.
“My issue here is very clear. How long are we going to be relying on Peter Obi and Datti supporters to come and deliver Edo State? There is news that if it wasn’t for the Obi-Datti supporters and we the elders of the party, it would have been very difficult for Labour Party in Edo State to sail through. We have the Chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi. He is the state Chairman. We have the National Chairman, Julius Abure, who is also from Edo State, Esan Central. I have never seen anywhere that a political party will have members of Executives of six or seven, operating the kind of illagality that Ogbaloi has been operating. I have been trying to manage the situation, but I cannot manage it anymore. I need Peter Obi to understand that I followed him with my followers because of his transparency and desire for change.
“Before he emerged as flagbearer for Labour Party, I have been on ground, I have been working tirelessly across Edo state, making billboards for positive change.
“I have been working with a gentleman, the erudite, wonderful friend, mentor and brother that Pat Utomi is. I organised a symposium at the Nigerian Union of Journalists NUJ building in Benin, and he gracefully attended. Before the emergence of Peter Obi. There is also my dear brother and friend, Comrade Tony Akeni, who has been playing a very vital role in the Obi-Datti movement.
“However, we have been sold out many times by Kelly Ogbaloi to various political parties like APC and PDP. I am not so happy with that. In the last 2 million man March that we organised that surpassed 2 million, I was at the forefront. May God bless all those who supported us, including the Youth Leader. If it weren’t for the impact of the kind of people who were on ground, we won’t have had that kind of impact. My name is Ultimate Equal, I am a mobilizer. I am the President of One Love Foundation. When I call for people, they answer.
“Ogbaloi has been doing things that are not in favour of this party. Ogbaloi said there is no leadership in this party. For those reading this, Labour Party was founded in Edo State with people from NLC, TUC and others, especially with the recognition of people like Adams Oshiomhole. When there was an issue with Labour Party, I was the one who settled it.
“When Ebima Ogbeide wanted to contest as Chairman, I stopped him because he wanted to cross over from PDP to Labour. I told him that he can’t cross over to Labour Party. I reached out to Omeide, through Pa Aguebor and Distinguished Gabbano. We made sure Omeide emerged as the party Chairman.
“I became the senatorial leader because I had made it clear that I was fighting Ogbeide not because I wanted to be party Chairman.
“I honestly believed that Julius Abure has to be part of us, because he was on the part of Ogbeide back then. Omeide gave us a full building to conduct the Affairs of Labour Party. Abure then was the state Secretary of LP. Abure becoming the national leaser if Labour Party today, I am instrumental to it.
“If Abure writes a biography and my name is not there, that story won’t be complete. I have a lot of respect for him, but I think he needs to wake up, stand up, and organise LP in Edo State, not just by putting neophytes who don’t know what they are doing, just because they keep saying yes sir to him.
“Those running for Councilors or Governor should be bold enough to present their grievances to Peter Obi. It’s important he knows what they have been going through with Kelly Ogbalor. I don’t understand why Ogbaloi would say there is no leadership, mentorship in Labour Party. I disagree with him because a child who doesn’t recognise his father and mother is a bsatard and I therefore challenge him, that we have laboured, and we cannot Labour in vain.
“Every billboard you see in Benin, going to Ore, even in Abuja national office, they are my efforts.
“When Peter Obi declared for President in Asaba, I was there with all the press men. I have invested heavily into this party. I am not doing it for money, I do it for integrity and character because Peter Obi has it all.
“So I want Peter Obi to closely monitor the affairs of Edo State, because we will not allow this party Chairman Ogbaloi who is inky interested in exploiting the innocent people who don’t have money for his own selfish end. It’s either the leadership is good for nothing or they use it to make money. Omeide is a respectable gentleman who has lots of money if you are talking about money. Pa Aguebor is about 80 years old who has achieved a lot in life. Myself, I am very comfortable and I am content. Contentment is my own wealth, so I do not want to be the problem of Labour Party, and even those who have run for House of Reps and Senate, they don’t even listen to the leadership of this party.
“But we sacrificed for them. We stood in the sun. Some of us got injured, some were beaten, some died in the course of this freedom.
“So I call out Peter Obi, I cry to meet him, because the crises that is about to rock Labour Party, he should look into it properly because Labour Party started from Edo State. It can also end in Edo State if they don’t put their house in order to respect the leadership of the party. They should stop exploiting people. I call out every man and woman who love freedom, who live Obi-Datti, Labour Party to please advice Ogbalor and others trying to destroy the party to wake up from their slumber ans realize that a lot of people sacrificed for where we are today.
“I will not keep quiet and let Kelly Ogbaloi to import disgruntled failures from APC and PDP to destroy Labour Party.
“Oshiomhole said the other day that APC is not an IDP camp. We do not rehabilitate sick politicians in Labour Party. We need credible men and women, so that in the next elections, we must emerge victorious, and we will not use the present leadership of Edo Exco, including Ogbaloi to conduct the next guber election. Ogbaloi and his Exco did not win their units and wards in the last election. It was us in Edo South that delivered Labour Party in Edo State. If you say the truth, you will die, if you lie, you will die, so I am going to say the truth as it is, and those who are afraid of the truth shall die and be buried”, Eholor wrote.
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