The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Gregory Obi has said that the aggrieved former national chairman was removed as the party chaiman by the party’s constitution when his tenure collapsed and not by any governor.
He said this while represented by his running mate in the 2023 elections, Datti Baba-Ahmed at the inaugural meeting of the LP caretaker committee held in Abuja on Tuesday night.
According to Obi, Abure and his supporters should let peace reign while joining hands with the caretaker committee to rebuild the party.
Obi counselled, “Listen my friend, no governor unseated Abure, the constitution unseated him. Abure’s time elapsed. Nobody unseated him. As of today, Abure is our good friend, and a loyal member. We want him back in the fold, we have roles for him to play.
“We didn’t have crisis. We managed a transition, which was a bit bumpy and that was it. I tell you, no other political party of our size could do that in the time and manner that we did.
“We are a political party who went all the way to the Supreme Court claiming our 10 million votes. They were only able to give us six million votes. So, we are a force to contend with in Africa. What we’ve done has never been done before. When PDP came they had the military. We had nothing.
“We started, it was organic. It was us. It was Nigerian people. It was Obidients, and we defeated two existing political parties, to the best of our submission, in the courts.”
While Obi said he was not surprised by the economic crisis rocking the country, he assured that the Labour Party was ready tk repeat and surpass the previous achievement during the 2023 elections. It is his hope that they win a majority in the National Assembly and the presidential seat
Obi added, “What is more, we are buoyed by the fact that we warned Nigerians of the failure of APC, the dangers of APC is happening. They are failing more on the Nigerian economy. They are destroying the security of Nigeria. Every day in the news, you reported it, our citizens are abducted. They are killed in hundreds in villages.
“We warned Nigerians this was going to happen. Desperate people took the victory of Labour Party. What did they do with it? Our currency value was again destroyed. Security destroyed. Hunger in the land. Removal of subsidies managed very very poorly, aggravated corruption continued… lies and lies and lies.”
In her remark, the Chairman of the Labour Party National Caretaker Committee, Senator Nenadi Usman assured party members of their determination to ensure the Party’s growth and restore and rebuild it while ensuring reconciliation of all parties involved.
Usman says they are on a rescue mission for both Labour Party and Nigeria as their aim is to ensure a viable platform for all who wish to ensure the country excels.
The Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu, who represented Governor Alex Otti, charged the committee members to work for the growth of the Labour Party and shun acts that could be detrimental to the interest of the party.
In his submission, the secretary of the committee, Senator Darlington Nwokocha, said the committee will work hard within its time frame to produce elected ward, local government, state and national officers for the party.
Abure on INEC
The Julius Abure-led group in their own part has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of singling it out for punishment because of the role it played during the defence of Obi and Otti during the 2023 general election.
Abure mentioned this on Wednesday in Abuja at a media briefing addressed by the factional National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, at the party’s national secretariat.
He also accused Obi and Otti of betraying all that LP ever stood for, by supporting INEC’s decision. INEC who he said let Nigerians down by sidelining the free will of the people during the 2023 elections.
According to Ifoh, Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti were trying to annex power of the leadership of the party through subterranean means and using INEC. He also complained that both men had convened am illegal stakeholders meeting in Umuahia, where they allegedly selected their “cronies”, a 29-member caretaker committee as leaders of the party.
The factional spokesman added, “As you are aware, the party has since sued INEC challenging its exclusion from the commission’s refresher training for uploading party agents ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
“However, INEC had in a counter-affidavit, filed in response to our suit argued that the Labour Party’s leadership, including Julius Abure, is now invalid, stressing that it does not recognise the party’s March 2024 National Convention, which re-elected Abure as chairman.
“The leadership of the Labour Party is, however, miffed by the actions of our leaders, including our former presidential candidate Peter Obi, and the only Labour Party governor, Dr. Alex Otti, who should be defending the party at this auspicious and trying moment.
“They ought to know that Labour Party is going through this challenging times simply because of its role in defending both leaders during the 2023 general election.”
The unrecognition of the Abure led faction of Labour Party by INEC has refused to sit well in the party, while the party leadership has continously been in the news due to internal part struggle.
