The Edo State chapter of Labour Party (LP), on Wednesday commenced the screening of its aspirants for the ward delegates congress ahead of the February 23, governorship primary of the party
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it would be recalled, had scheduled the Edo gubernatorial election for September 21, 2024.
Speaking with newsmen in Benin City during the ward delegates screening exercise held at the party secretariat, the State Chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi, said that the screening was to ensure a fair process for the emergence of delegates for the party’s primary.
Ogbaloi, who doubles s as the chairman of the 10-man screening committee for the ward delegates congress, said two delegates would be elected in each of the 192 wards in the state.
He added that the ward delegates congress would hold on Sunday, February 18, 2024, while the local government delegates congress was scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
According to him, the screening exercise “is a traditionally required item in dealing with the internal politics of the party.
“We want those who will eventually become the delegates of our party; who will contest it, to be screened and be sure that they are competent in character and otherwise for them to be in the congress and eventually in the election of delegates that will come to the primary.”
He added that the two elected delegates from the ward congress would in turn nominate seven delegates each from the 18 local government across the state.
The function of ward delegates, Ogbaloi added, would end at the election of the seven local government delegates congress, as it is the only seven delegates that would participate at the governorship primary.
Ogbaloi explained that those to participate at the ward delegates congress would pay N5,000 while those for the local government were to pay N10,000.
On his part, the State Publicity Secretary of the party Sam Uroupa, explained that the screening exercise was to ensure that the process was not hijacked by political godfathers
He added that there would be no statutory or super delegates for the primary election.
This was just as he assured that the process would produce eligible and qualified delegates both at the ward and local government council’s levels for the primary.
“The screening is both for the ward and local government delegates for the primary of our party. It is primarily to ensure that those screened are eligible to qualify for our party delegate congresses.
“The criteria here is that, a person must be a card carrying member with full financial commitment to the party. That means, he or she must be paying his or her party dues and also working for the interest of the party.
“We required items like LP Identify Card, Voters Card among others to be a bonafide member of the party.
“Noteworthy, these are the people that are going to elect the ward delegates, the ward delegates who in turn are going to elect the Local Government Area delegates, the LGA 7 delegates, will in turn elect the party’s governorship flag bearer”, he said.
He, however, assured that the entire primary would be free, fair and credible.
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