Owan PDP chairman excluded from party meeting with Obaseki at Afuze

By DADA AYOKHAI

The visible absence of Owan East PDP chairman, Mr Leslie Ebosojie, at the meeting between Gov Godwin Obaseki and stakeholders and leaders, during the latter's recent  tour of the local government caused a major political stir.

 The closed door meeting, held in Afuze, as part of the governor's tour of duty of PDP chapters in the 18 local government areas in the state, afforded him the chance to rub minds with the grassroot party leaders on a broad range of party issues, including the party's e - registration exercise and others.

 But speculations that the party's Owan East local government was deliberately sidelined became rife

A top party leader who spoke under the cloak of anonymity, disclosed that the chapter chairman was privy to the meeting, noting he was assigned with the responsibility of compiling the list of attendees and wondered how he was not invited,

 However, the chapter chairman, Mr Leslie Ebosojie, in a telephone chat  stated that the decision to stay away from the meeting was entirely his, stressing further that since he was not officially invited either in his official capacity or otherwise, there was therefore no need  to be present.

He stated further that a directive from the office of the Governor simply mandated him to compile a list of two leaders per ward, noting that even as chapter party chairman he is not  among the leaders of the party in his ward, hence he lacks the power to include his name.

In particular, he noted if the directive had specifically requested for a meeting of  the LGA  chairman and leaders  across the various wards in the locality, which is the usual practice for convening party meetings, there is no way he would have excluded his name from the list forwarded to the governor.

The closed door meeting was strictly by invitation. Some PDP chieftains who got wind of it and invaded the venue were turned back by security men who sealed off the entrance into the hall, on the ground that the meeting was exclusive and strictly by invitation.

 Some aggrieved party leaders complained bitterly about the use of the local government secretariat for the meeting instead of the party's secretariat. 

Governor Obaseki is also expected to visit Etsako and Akoko Edo axis respectively, before rounding up his tour of Edo North district.