• Dismisses Abure-led Faction As ‘Band Of Entertainers’
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party National Caretaker Committee (LP-NCC) has stated that it welcomes the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi’s participation in the ongoing coalition talks.
The committee, however, maintained that Obi has inalienable right to contest the 2027 election on the platform of the party should the ongoing merger talks fail to materialise.
The committee made this declaration while reacting to the Abure-led faction’s condemnation of Obi’s attendance of opposition coalition talks in Abuja on Sunday; a decision the faction said the ex-Anambra governor took without due consultations.
This is contained in a statement signed by Ken Asogwa, the Special Adviser (Media) to Usman, the LP-NCC on Monday night.
According to the statement, the Nnenadi Usman’s committee said it was fully aware and supportive of Obi’s participation in the talks.
He said, “The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to reports circulating in some sections of the media suggesting that certain former members of our party, led by the suspended chairman, Barr. Julius Abure, have voiced disapproval over the participation of our 2023 presidential candidate, His Excellency Peter Obi, in the ongoing coalition movement aimed at rescuing Nigeria from the failed APC administration in 2027.
“To be clear, the National Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party, under the able leadership of Distinguished Senator Nenadi Usman, expressly approved and endorsed Peter Obi’s participation in the ongoing patriotic convergence of well-meaning Nigerians committed to dismantling the rudderless Tinubu administration.
“It is worth reiterating that Obi has consistently maintained that his interest lies solely in a coalition focused on eradicating hunger, insecurity, and poor governance – a vision that aligns squarely with the founding principles and aspirations of the Labour Party.
“It is therefore baffling that individuals who have been shown the exit door for their anti-party activities now seek to question a move so clearly rooted in national interest.
“One is left wondering whose agenda Julius Abure and his cohorts have truly been advancing.
“Is it that they disagree with Obi and the Labour Party that Nigeria is presently facing an unprecedented crisis requiring collective action to salvage?
“While the Labour Party wholeheartedly welcomes the coalition movement driven by the Nigerian people, we also reaffirm Peter Obi’s unequivocal right to contest the 2027 elections under the Labour Party platform – should the ongoing coalition efforts fail to materialise.
“In the meantime, it is rather comical that Abure and his band of entertainers continue to peddle the narrative of a purported 2024 national convention which was self-convened, unlawful, and ultimately denounced by the Supreme Court of Nigeria as illegal.
“The repeated reference to this so-called convention is not only misleading but also a flagrant contempt of the Supreme Court’s judgment and should be treated as such by the appropriate legal authorities.”
The spokesman further said, “In view of the foregoing, the general public is hereby advised to disregard any statements emanating from these impostors masquerading as party leaders.
For authentic and authoritative information regarding the Labour Party, the public is urged to rely solely on communications from the office of the National Caretaker Committee led by Distinguished Senator Nenadi Usman.”
The leadership crisis in the LP has continued unabated despite the subsisting Supreme Court verdict which gave a stamp of authority and recognition to Usman-led leadership which enjoys the support of Obi and governor Alex Otti of Abia State.
