Edo rally: I expected Labour Party to be more serious - Obaseki

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has responded to allegations that he denied the Labour Party access to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to use for their Presidential rally in the state.

What really happened: Pulse reports that the Peter Obi presidential train stopped at the South South state on Friday, November 11, 2022, as the former Anambra State Governor, his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and Labour Party stakeholders and supporters converged on Edo state.

However, the party was forced to seek an alternative venue for the rally after the management of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium turned down their request to use the facility.

Fear of Obi: Labour Party later came out to criticise Obaseki for the development, alleging that the Governor was intimidated by the strong followership Obi had in the state.

Recall that Obaseki had sometime in October predicted that the Labour Party candidate and his supporters, popularly referred to as 'Obidients,' will see their efforts in vain as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, will emerge winner in 2023.

Obaseki reacts: Meanwhile, reacting to Labour Party allegation, Obaseki said he was disappointed by how the rally organisers approached the event.

Speaking in an interview on Channel TV's Politics Today on Friday, he said the Edo state government was only notified 24 hours before the event and this gave them little time to put the stadium in best condition for use.

Obaseki's word: "Well there are several venues in Benin for rallies. I heard that they applied on Wednesday night to hold a rally at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Friday morning, giving us one day notice. The tracks for that stadium are still under warranty. The pitch has to be maintained in a certain mode. So it's just not another facility you just can go in and use without preparing.

"If they knew they had a rally on Friday, 11, why couldn't they give more time and more notice so that we give them the conditions under which they can use the pitch. The same thing we did to PDP when they wanted to use the pitch and the only reason why we allowed the PDP rally was because it was also used as an opportunity to commission that facility. Otherwise, most other rallies are held in other large grounds around the city. So I think I expected more from the Labour Party. I thought they were more serious. You can't be planning for rally on a Friday and be giving less than a 24 hour notice. I'm a bit disappointed."

Obaseki says Obi isn't on ground: Asked if he felt intimidated by the growing support Obi is getting from Edo State, the governor shrugged off the assertion, arguing that Labour Party doesn't have a strong presence offline.

Obaseki's word: "It's a joke. They can show us virtually but not on the ground. We're on ground, we will see, it's February 23rd. Anyway, that's not the issue at stake. The issue here is that I expect that they should more serious.

"I spoke to my friend, Peter Obi, the night before, he told me he was coming to Edo State and we offered him all the courtesies, including security and some logistics. I didn't know they were coming for a rally. For me, the issue didn't even come up to me, the people had to deal with the issue at the Sports Commission know what to do and they did what they had to do professionally."