Party Constitution, Not Governor, Removed Abure, LP Leadership, Says Peter Obi

•Says party warned Nigerians about APC 

•Ex-chair explains why INEC is against him

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has stated that the embattled former national chairman of the party, Julius Abure, was removed by the party’s constitution, as his tenure elapsed. Obi said Abure was not removed by any governor.

Obi, who was represented by his 2023 running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, gave the clarification at the inaugural meeting of the LP caretaker committee held in Abuja on Tuesday night.

He appealed to Abure and his supporters to sheathe their swords and join 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.”

Obi stressed that he was not surprised about the present economic crisis rocking the country, saying the party warned Nigerians about the impending disaster if All Progressives Congress (APC) was in charge of the country.

He assured that the opposition party was ready to repeat and surpass the feat recorded during the 2023 elections in 2027 by producing a majority in the National Assembly and winning 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.”

Earlier, the chairman of the Labour Party National Caretaker Committee, Senator Nenadi Usman, assured party members of the committee’s determination to rescue the party from the current challenges, restore and rebuild it as a veritable alternative platform for Nigerians.

Usman further assured of the committee’s readiness to lead the party to the path of reconciliation within the short time of its assignment.

She stated, “We are on a rescue mission, not just for the Labour Party, but I tell you for our dear nation Nigeria. The interest this committee has generated extends beyond party lines.

“The number of telephone calls I have received, not just from Labour Party members, but people from other political parties, who told me that if we get this thing right, we will walk together. So, we have a huge task.

“Our party, by the grace of Almighty God, will become a platform for all disenfranchised and unhappy Nigerians. People who are not happy with the way things are going, we are going to be the platform for them, by the grace of God. Therefore, we must view this as a significant national assignment.”

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: Why INEC is against Me

The Julius Abure-led group in Labour Party accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of singling it out for punishment for the role it played in the defence of Obi and Otti during the 2023 general election. Abure said this yesterday in Abuja at a media briefing addressed by the factional National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, at the party’s national secretariat.

He accused Obi and Otti of betraying all that LP ever stood for, by now taking sides with INEC, which let Nigerians down by bungling the free will of the people during the 2023 elections.

Ifoh said, “The Labour Party thinks it expedient to bring to your notice the recent development in the party, particularly, the efforts by some of the leaders of the party, including the former presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, and the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, amongst others, to annex power of the leadership of the party through subterranean means using the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as their launching pad.

“The media has been awash with INEC’s counter affidavit to the effect that the tenure of the current executives has expired, which was supposed to be a justification for the inglorious, purported Umuahia stakeholders meeting, where a caretaker committee was produced.

“You will recall that His Excellencies, Peter Obi and Alex Otti a few weeks ago convened an illegal stakeholders meeting in Umuahia where they handpicked some of their cronies, a 29-member caretaker committee, in the most undemocratic fashion as leaders of their faction of the party.

“They subsequently wrote a letter to the INEC on September 6, 2024, informing the commission of the purported and non-existent leadership crisis in the party.

“They hinged their decision on the fact that INEC informed them that the present National Working Committee of the party no longer have a valid tenure after June 2024 and because INEC also did not monitor the Nnewi Convention of the party held on the 26th March, 2024, the commission has ceased from transacting business with 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.”