2023: Edo LP Youths Plan 1000 Man Match Across 192 Wards

From Chris Akhabue

 As part of  campaign strategies to canvass support for the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi,  Youth leaders across the three senatorial district of Edo State,  converged at the labour party secretariat to harmonise strategies aimed at ensuring victory for their principal.

Speaking to  champion Newspaper correspondent at the event, the Edo State Youth leader of the party, comrade Ken Omusi  said that the purpose of the enlarged meeting with the  youth leaders  of the various districts and zones across the 18 local government areas of  Edo State  was significantly important because the general elections for 2023 was around the corner and the electioneering process was beginning to get intense and there was therefore the need to interface with the youth leaders of the various districts and zones across the 18 local government areas of  Edo State with a view to making sure they were on the same page with  the presidential campaign committee on modalities aimed at ensuring that the objective of ensuring electoral victory for all their candidates was achieved.

According to him,

"Looking at 2023, the election is fast approaching and so we have decided to call all the youths leaders of  Edo State to fine-tune modalities for the upcoming election to ensure victory for all our candidates and the meeting was aimed at bringing the youths to meet with the leadership of the party at the state level so that they can be appreciated for all their efforts at their different zones".

Continuing he said,   "according to INEC report, 60 - 65 % of registered voters in Nigeria are youths and so we have decided to call our party youth leaders from the eighteen local government area of the  State and some wards in Benin city to strategize and plan on how to maximise and convert to victory the heavy electoral potentials of the youths population.

"Our  youths are streaming with vigour, 

and  are planning  One Thousand Man Match across the 192 wards of the  eighteen local government areas of the state  as parts of efforts to  mobilise for victory and to keep the steam running to guarantee victory for all our candidates in the forthcoming general elections", 

One of the  youth leaders from Edo North, Comrade John Osikhuemen  Okukpe,  who also spoke with the Champion's correspondent at the event, said the meeting of the youth leaders in the state with the state  leadership of Labour Party was for the purpose of synergizing and harmonizing strategic plans to achieving victory for the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi,  in the forthcoming general elections.

According to him, " we call for this meeting today for all the youth leaders in Edo State to come together and synergize and strategize with a view to winning the 2023 general elections for Peter Obi and we strongly believe that with what we are planning today that come 2023, Peter Obi will emerge the president of Nigeria and Labour Party will become the ruling party".

 According to the Edo State  Chairman of the party,  Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi, he said that  the meeting  was to  discuss with them with the aim of getting  their update and how much success made and to know areas of challenge.

"We want to get to know the extent to which they are working at their various  zones and locality so as to compare notes to see if they are doing well with the campaigns  and to encourage them to understand that quite a greater part of what we are doing in this election to secure  victory rests on the shoulders of the   youths and the women".

"After this session with the Youths, I am also going to have a meeting with all the women leaders  across the state to know what they are doing in their various zones and localities with a view to encouraging and getting updates from them to ascertain level of success and challenges so that at all times we would be on the same page in driving the dynamics of  electioneering process through to 2023 general elections".

He further stated that the youths were achieving commendable results.

"The only noticeable challenge observed in my interactions with some of the leaders is the inadequate communication with some other support groups and the inadequate communication between them and the Labour Party presidential campaign Council and the issue of not having adequate wherewithal to frontally drive the process  and their quest for materials that would enable them have a full blast  campaign, these are some of the challenges enumerated by the Youths leaders and we have addressed the issues raised and we have given counsels, very portable ones, to make sure we work as one, to achieve our desired victory".

On the allegation  by some of the youths that  some candidates of Labour Party are relying on the popularity of the presidential candidate of the party, Mr Peter Obi, to win the election, instead of  working hard to ensure their electoral victories, the chairman had this to say," Yes, that is the opinion expressed by some of the youths but the Party is not seeing it as such and that is why we have assured  them that we are equally  going to sieve the views of the candidates themselves with a view  to having everyone on the same page on  matters of the campaigns. That opinion is the first time expression and I have advised them to give me  time to interact with the candidates because that opinion expressed is coming to me as a first time expression and not until I have a meeting with the candidates to elicit their own view on such matters, I can't conclude that it is a problem but really there can't be problem because Labour Party is a family that is able to address its challenges and move on  because the task on our hand is much and we can not afford to waste time on frivolities.

"Our Youths are hitting the ground running and are working hard to ensure that victory is achieved and nothing suggests in their present carriage and disposition that they will not carry on till the end and so I am going to continue to emphasize that our supporters should solidly stand by Labour Party because we need to ensure that we deliver on the objective we have set before us and that is why I will advise that those of us who have not picked our PVCs should endeavour to do so before it is too late" he concluded.