The Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives Caucus has picked offense in the party’s castigation of the lawmakers by the Acting Publicity Secretary, Mr. obiora Ifoh.
Chairman of the Labour Party Reps Caucus, Afam Ogene, had on Sunday called on the Labour Party leadership to postpone the proposed national convention of the party, which was scheduled for month end.
This, according to him, was to allow room for wider consultations and proper planning, given the internal bickering among the leaders and the fact that many stakeholders, including the lawmakers, were not allegedly carried along in the processes leading to the choice of date and venue for the convention.
Reacting to Ogene’s call, Ifoh reportedly accused him of lying to the public that the caucus was not informed about the convention and “rushing to the press to misinform” members of Labour Party. He also referred to the lawmaker as “unknowledgeable as it relates to the constitution of the party under which he was elected.”
Responding to Ifoh’s attack, Ogene, in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr. Edward Dibiana, said the party spokesman’s “unprofessional, tasteless and infantile outburst which is fast becoming his trademark failed to represent his party in a manner that supports a capacity, strategic thinking and emotional intelligence disposition that the position of a party’s spokesman demands.”
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“The job of a party spokesman, like that of every other public communications expert, is not only to issue press statements but essentially, to help promote the image and integrity of the party, through application of sense of propriety in conduct and delivery of information of public interest, in a manner that would attract support and goodwill for the party across party lines and beyond”, He stated.
“It is also very insensitive and disappointing for Ifoh, who was only hurriedly brought in to fill in a gap in an acting capacity to dismiss the call for proper planning and wider consultations, by the Labour Reps as a mischief taken too far.
“If, for the sake of argument, one is to believe the argument that Ifoh was ‘directed’ to issue such infantile statement by his masters, civility and candour requires that he ought to go on such ill-advised errand with the decorum and tact of a professional”, He added.
