‘Rivers Labour Party didn’t suspend me, I’m still chairman’ – Actress Hilda Dokubo

Hilda Dokubo, chairperson of the Labour Party (LP) in Rivers State, has denied rumours of her suspension from the party.

On Thursday, reports emerged that Mrs Dokubo was suspended as a party member in her ward, Asari Toru Local Government Area of the state.

The suspension supposedly followed an emergency meeting of the party’s ward executive committee on 15 July, which LGA executives then ratified on 18 July.

The alleged reasons for her suspension included financial misconduct, abuse of office and party regulations violations.

However, the actress-cum-politician refuted the claims in a video shared on her Instagram page Saturday, noting that she remains the party’s chairperson.

She said: “Today I went viral. I was on every blog and news site, and it’s very embarrassing that what you would think is a media that would do some investigation before publication forgot the ethics of their profession. Maybe because of money or not, but I’m hoping that this particular broadcast, the same way they were quick to broadcast, will carry this in all their blogs to set the record straight. I was never suspended, and everybody in that publication is a non-Labour Party member because the party has a register, and we know all our members, especially in Asari Toru, a small community.

“So these are all PDP boys carrying out the instructions of their master. Ordinarily, I’d have let it go, but because the internet never forgets, I want to put my part of the story out there so that you know that at no time was I suspended; at no time did I have any delays whatsoever with money. We do not have money. I am chairman of the Labour Party, River State, not Financial Secretary or Treasurer. I am not even an executive of Ward 3. I am the Labour Party chairman, River State. So I think they missed the point out there.”

Allegations refuted

Mrs Dokubo, 54, was appointed as the state party’s chairperson in March 2023. She denied the allegations and added that her 30-year career in Nollywood and ten years with international organisations had been scandal-free.

“Not one day was it mentioned that I took anything. There is no blemish because my work is grounded in integrity and honour, and they investigate those aspects before offering any job. So, you know, when they say you venture into politics, you enter murky waters. I think President Goodluck Jonathan once said that when you try to stop corruption, corruption will push back.

“This is corruption pushing back, which is why I am doing this broadcast—because this may just be one of several that will come. So, let me address my friends, my supporters, and lovers of the Labour Party. We have work to do. We are revalidating memberships, registering new members, and strengthening our wards. So please stay focused and don’t get distracted”, she said.

Bribes

The Special Adviser on Youth Affairs to the former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, claimed that the allegations stem from her refusal to be swayed by bribes.

The University of Port Harcourt alumna reiterated that the allegations won’t halt the Labour Party’s progress or cause its downfall. She said her focus remains on saving the state from those threatening it.

“You know when they try to coax you, and you refuse to be coaxed, then they threaten you, and you refuse to be threatened, they are most definitely going to look for a way to try to hurt you. Now, the sad part is that all the people who carried all the publications forgot to carry the most important one. That’s why we’re in this situation: I took to court the 27 persons who defected from PDP to APC. We’re in court with them, and they have tried to do everything, and I have said, ‘Let justice prevail.’ So, this is everyone trying to fight back.

“Now, I got appointed in March, and the people who served before I was appointed, relieved of their duties and put on indefinite suspension for anti-party activities, took myself and the other executive members to court twice. We won our case both times. So, I don’t even know why they didn’t publish that. We won our case twice, but they disappeared until the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) invited political party leaders to a meeting to inform us about the upcoming local government elections, and we collected our forms of intent letters and interest letters. And these same individuals who were trying to do what they’re very good at returned to RSIEC and were turned away,” said Mrs Dokubo.

Mrs Dokubo, who made her acting debut in ‘Evil Passion’, reiterated her strong opposition to any attempt “to merchandise the public’s mandate in the state.”

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Asari-Toru LP

Furthermore, the Asari-Toru LGA chapter of the party debunked the purported suspension of Mrs Dokubo as a party member in the ward.

On Friday, Horsfall Mac-Jay, the Chairman of the party Caretaker Committee in the LGA, stated that Mrs Dokubo remains a member and the party’s chairman in the state.

Mr Mac-Jay urged the public to disregard the suspension of the actress, stating that it was the handiwork of some phantom elements unknown to the party.