Thousands of supporters and several support groups of the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, gathered in a town hall in Benin City, Edo State, on Saturday, where they vowed to win seats into the state House of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate to provide the needed administrative support for an Obi presidency.
They also vowed to neutralise activities of saboteurs who they alleged were being planted in the party. They demanded that the candidates for various elective positions in the state be unveiled so that they could profile them to know their genuine intention.
Speaking at the event, the President of ‘No Controversy Organisation’, one of the support groups of Obi and the LP, Dennis Ogbeide, said, “We don’t want saboteurs in our party because they are reaching out to us.
“All those political armed robbers are there so we want to know all our candidates, we want to know those who are not on the side of the political robbers.”
In his speech, the state chairman of the LP, Lucky Ogbaloi, said the party took time to pick its candidates who, he said, were people with proven track records, character and integrity.
He said, “Peter Obi is the arrow head of the LP as its presidential candidate. We are also aware that a tree does not make a forest and that is why we have candidates for various positions. We must ensure that our candidates win elections so that they will run the government side by side with Obi after his victory next year.
“We have our hands on the plough, let us not look back. We are aware that some people are planning to do some funny things. We will put machinery in place to check this.
“What distinguishes Labour Party from other political parties is that it is ideologically and trade union driven to promote an active role in the country, create economic prosperity and provision of social services on a long term basis. These are things the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the federal level have both failed to provide for Nigerians,” he added.
