A former House of Representatives member and two-time Labour Party senatorial candidate for the Ebonyi South Senatorial Seat, Hon. Linus Abaa Okorie, has said the recently held coalition meeting in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State Capital, enjoyed the endorsement of the 2023 LP presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and the party’s interim leadership led by Nenadi Usman.
Okorie, in a statement he signed, urged members of the party in the state to stand firm against what he described as “the politics of blackmail and extortion.”
He maintained that party members must embrace the inclusive coalition movement already endorsed at the national level by Mr. Peter Obi and the interim Labour Party leadership.
Okorie, who reaffirmed his commitment to principled politics, said he has made personal sacrifices in the face of persecution. He added that the coalition stakeholders meeting was a legitimate democratic gathering aimed at uniting patriots across party lines for the rescue of Nigeria.
“It is important to clarify that Mr. Splendour neither speaks for the Labour Party nor represents the trust of genuine party faithful in Ebonyi.
“His role in the affairs of the party has, regrettably, been defined by transactional tendencies that weakened Labour Party’s 2023 electoral chances in the state and left a legacy of division and missed opportunity.
“The meeting in Abakaliki, which has come under his attack, was rightfully called the Ebonyi Coalition Stakeholders Meeting. It was convened to domesticate in Ebonyi the broader opposition coalition already embraced by Mr. Peter Obi and the interim leadership of the Labour Party under Senator Nenadi Usman.
“A coalition in which Obi himself is an active participant. It was therefore a meeting of willing and consenting individuals drawn from the PDP, Labour Party, SDP, and aggrieved members of the APC.”
He said that those involved are united by shared conviction rather than bound by party labels. For anyone to seek to block such a gathering is, quite frankly, an attempt to deny citizens their fundamental rights to free assembly and association.
“If Mr. Splendour truly believed in the leadership of Mr. Peter Obi and the Labour Party, and was not merely embarking on another commercial scheme with their names, he would not condemn in Ebonyi what our national leaders actively participated in and endorse.
“To do so is to misrepresent both the spirit and direction of the movement for a New Nigeria. My own political journey has been one of sacrifice and principle, often at great personal cost.
“The coalition movement in Ebonyi is genuine, inclusive, and here to stay. It is not an APC contraption as falsely alleged, but a collective of patriots determined to align with the broader rescue mission that Mr. Peter Obi champions at the national stage.
“I therefore urge every genuine Labour Party member in Ebonyi to ignore the distractions of blackmail and remain focused on building alliances that can deliver real change.
“Our state and our country are in urgent need of leaders who will put people above personal gain, and who will build bridges rather than walls.
“That is the spirit of the coalition we are building. Together, and with steadfastness, we will restore dignity to politics in Ebonyi, rekindle the hopes of our people, and prove once again that indeed a New Nigeria is Possible.”
