Labour defends Ogbu over 'typo' in asylum timeline

The Labour Party has defended Mayor of Galway Helen Ogbu against scrutiny over a timeline error on her webpage concerning her asylum application in Ireland. The discrepancy involved the date of her arrival in Ireland and the death of her husband.

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The typo, I presume, was in the word 'after'. Helen Ogbu has been very upfront about everything that she has endured.

Last night, the party issued a statement addressing a media query about the webpage, which stated Ogbu arrived in Ireland in 2006 following her husband's assassination. However, her husband was murdered in Nigeria in 2010, four years after the date cited online. The webpage was subsequently removed after a media outlet raised the issue last Friday.

Labour TD George Lawlor, who served as Ogbu's director of elections for the recent Galway West bye-election, described the error as a "typo" made by a volunteer, not the party. He clarified that he did not consider the mistake a deliberate falsehood but acknowledged it as an inaccuracy. "The typo, I presume, was in the word 'after'," Lawlor stated, emphasizing Ogbu's openness about her experiences.

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What should be explained is that Helen Ogbu moved to Ireland because her husband was under serious threat, that serious threat came to pass with his assassination.

Lawlor explained that Ogbu moved to Ireland because her husband was under serious threat, a threat that tragically materialized with his assassination. He asserted that Ogbu's arrival in Ireland preceded her husband's murder, underscoring the safety concerns she faced. The party also noted in a statement that Ogbu has endured "significant racist abuse and harassment on an ongoing basis" and faced "intimidatory and unacceptable" doorstepping by a media outlet.

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Helen Ogbu arrived in Ireland because her husband's life was under threat. She came to Ireland. Her husband was subsequently assassinated, that's the situation.

Helen Ogbu was elected Mayor of Galway earlier this year, becoming the first African woman to hold the position. She was elected to Galway City Council in 2024. In the bye-election, she secured third place with 11.4% of first-preference votes.

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What more proof do we need that was an issue with the safety of Helen?