Fresh crisis is brewing in the Bauchi State Chapter of the Labour Party as the head of media for the ObiDatti Movement and the state publicity secretary of the party, Mr Benjamin Edeh, has kicked against his purported removal from office by the state party chairman, Barrister Husseini Saraki.
Edeh alleged that his removal by Saraki is driven by a hidden agenda.
Responding to the development however, Saraki said Edeh was never the state publicity secretary being a new entrant in the Labour Party who has spent barely three months.
Addressing Journalists on the development in Bauchi yesterday, Edeh maintained that he is still the party’s spokesman, and stressed that no valid reason was given to him by the chairman for his removal from office.
He stated that the chairman has no constitutional power to remove him from office, adding that the leadership of the party in the state, including the chairman, did not come through congress election nor given letters of appointment.
He added that they were selected based on commitment and loyalty to the cause of the Obi Movement.
“I have not been relieved of my position as State Publicity Secretary. He does not have the power to remove me at all. I don’t really know what is going on and I want the chairman to come and tell the whole world and the Obidatti Movement what his hidden agenda is and why he removed me.”
“The chairman, Saraki, chose a state publicity secretary to replace me three days ago who is already acting in that capacity. Every avenue to resolve the issue has failed because Saraki has stopped picking my calls.He only to picked it once and told me that I am now the zonal Publicity Secretary for Bauchi and they have chosen a new State Publicity Secretary.
“I declined writing to the leadership of the party in the state because almost all leadership members are Saraki’s relatives. The Chairman has inaugurated the new State Publicity Secretary and that they have started working already.
“This is coming few days to the coming of Mr Peter Obi and the general election.
Everybody in Bauchi knows that I am among the few that have been labouring for this Movement in Bauchi and the chairman is now coming to distance me away from the Movement is what I don’t know.
“He should tell the world the reason. The Office of the Labour Party was in a corner, Nobody knows it until I came on board with my media team began to publicize it every where with the help of many support Groups. We did the One Million Man match and it became global.
“We have been carrying out sensitization of voters in Bauchi. I was very active for Peter Obi and him trying to remove me, is like removing my strength and the whole Obi Community in the state which expects so much from me. How will I now engage them in the State apart party activities.
“I call on Obi to address this matter before they come to Bauchi State to do anything, this must be resolved. Let us know his contribution to Labour party in Bauchi and why is he standing as a hindrance to thousands of Obi followers in Bauchi State” he said.
The politician said there are issues on ground that need to be addressed before the arrival of the Presidential candidate of the Party to the state because he has done a lot for the electorates.
“There is something fishy on ground. We toiled and brought the party to where it is today. There was no labour party in Bauchi until I came on board and together we successfully organized the One Million Man match. Nobody gave me a dime. Now Saraki wants to tactically remove me from the system because as the mouth- piece of the Obi Movement in Bauchi, if Saraki succeeds in removing me from that position, then nobody will be bold enough to speak out”
“Somebody playing the ball has been removed from the game and a new person coming will not know the tactics and will just kick and miss and that is what I fear will happen. I do not know the kind of games the Chairman is playing but he should come out and tell Nigerians what is in his mind” he said.
