The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Barr Julius Abure, has warned its 2023 presidential election candidate, Peter Obi, to stop blackmailing the party’s officials.
Abure said the attention of the party’s leadership was called to an interview on Monday granted by Obi wherein he alleged that the APC-led federal government has infiltrated the leadership of the Labour Party and, by so doing, fomented a crisis in the party.
A statement issued by the Labour Party’s national secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, said that Obi could not produce any tangible evidence when asked to produce evidence.
“He said that the national chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, referred to the Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti, as a dwarf.
“As a member of our party, we sincerely do not wish to join issues with Mr. Obi, but for his penchant to constantly misinform Nigerians on the real reasons for the crisis in the party, knowing that virtually most other parties are in one form of crisis or the other. We sincerely hope he will introspect and move away from these ill-conceived narratives.
“It is therefore pertinent to put on record that the problem with the Labour Party was not created by the ruling party (APC). Rather, the problem in the Labour Party was created and sustained by Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, who is presently serving a suspension for anti-party activities. We dare Obi to produce any tangible or intangible evidence which suggests remotely or otherwise that the Abure leadership of the Labour Party is in bed with the APC-led government,” the party said.
The statement said nobody is infallible, adding, “it behoves anyone who makes mistakes to be bold enough to own it.
“When good leaders fail, they should own up to their responsibilities. Obi was unable to provide leadership for the party. He should own up to his mistakes. Therefore, it is shameful for Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti to continue accusing the government of infiltrating the Labour Party and demarketing it.
“This same government was in existence in 2022 when the party made six aspirants, including Prof. Pat Utomi, to step down for Peter Obi as the party’s candidate. The government existed when the party crisscrossed all the country’s nooks and crannies, including the insecurity-prone areas, campaigning for Peter Obi in 2022 and 2023.
“The government existed when the national chairman, Julius Abure, travelled across Europe and the United States to galvanise support for Peter Obi. The government also existed when the party leadership mobilised its members across the state, leading to over six million votes won during the election.
“It was the same leadership that you claimed had been infiltrated that stood with Peter Obi throughout the tribunal and up to the Supreme Court. The same Abure appeared in court more than Obi, refusing to be cowed when a splinter group wanted to hijack the process. The government existed when Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti were given sole tickets for 2027, even against the status quo.
“For the records, there was no problem in the Labour Party until Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti went to Umuahia, Abia State, to create an illegal and unconstitutional Caretaker Committee that polarised the party. And may I ask, is it the ruling party that sent Obi and Otti to Umuahia to create a division in the party?
“They were also aware that the courts, from the lower court up to the Supreme Court, clearly affirmed the party’s leadership, but Peter Obi and Alex Otti surreptitiously plotted to hijack the party’s leadership by instigating the division. Again, is the government in power creating the division or forcing them to march to INEC headquarters to exhibit their ignorance? the statement asked.
The statement added: “For Peter Obi to respond to the comment where the National Chairman referred to the governor as dwarfy in knowledge, we want to say clearly that there is no action without a reaction. The National Chairman was only responding to a pejorative comment made by the governor, wherein he referred to the National Chairman as ‘masturbating’.
“The governor neither retracted nor apologised for that reckless statement. He showed utter disrespect to the constituted authority of the party, to the man who went out of his way to help him achieve his ambition to be a governor.
“If the governor is not limited or dwarfy in knowledge, he would have appreciated the import of the Supreme Court judgement, which practically resolved the crisis in the party, but these men were only blinded by their inordinate desire to wrestle the party from the present leadership.
“The party leadership has moved on since the Supreme Court judgement, and we are working hard to reposition the party, restore confidence in our members, and prevent further membership haemorrhage from being witnessed across virtually all opposition parties in Nigeria today. We therefore think that it is improper for any member of the party, who means well for the party, to continue to make such unguided statements.
“The Labour Party will never go into any alliance with any other party to betray our candidates. We had every opportunity in 2023 to do so. Still, we chose to stand by Peter Obi and even Alex Otti before and even after the general election, when their matters were in court, but we were very consistent because of the bigger picture. And now that they have failed in their plot to dislodge a lawful leadership, they have simply resorted to blackmail instead of showing gratitude.
“One takeaway from Obi’s interview is that he has acknowledged that Abure is the National Chairman of the Labour Party, as he clearly stated. Therefore, we are calling on Peter Obi and other aggrieved party members to understand and digest that Barrister Julius Abure’s leadership has come to stay and nothing can change that,” the statement added.
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