Obi, Abure and Otti
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The Labour Party, LP, has tackled Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in 2023,
and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, over what it described as illegal bid to hijack the structure of the party.
The party described as “illegal and desperate” the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.
In a statement signed by the National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, the party described the NEC meeting convened by Obi and Otti as unconstitutional.
He explained according to the party’s rules, only the National Secretary, with the approval of the National Chairman, has the legal authority to summon such a gathering.
The party also claimed that Obi led his associates to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after the Abuja meeting, to compel the commission to accord recognition to the outcome of the meeting.
Ibrahim frowned at this, saying it was “an attempt to pressure INEC into taking illegal action,” adding: “If the Supreme Court judgment they claim to have favours them, why the rush to influence INEC? Why not follow due legal process?”
The party also rubbished the rumoured plans by the group to offer its National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, a position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT.
According to the statement, leadership decisions must come from the party’s structures and not from individuals seeking political advantage.
“Barrister Abure didn’t make himself chairman. It’s not about personalities but about the supremacy of the organs of the party. No one has the prerogative to allocate positions as if they were personal favours,” the statement read.
Describing the Abuja meeting as “a clear violation” of the party’s constitution the party said many of those who attended the meeting did not fall within the scope of the constitutionally recognised members of the party’s NEC.
It condemned threats allegedly made during the Abuja meeting to take over the party leadership “by all means including brute force,” and likened it to the recent comments credited to Comrade Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, who allegedly vowed to picket LP offices across the country.
“This planned self-help approach will achieve nothing. If you truly have a valid judgment, follow legal channels. Threats and intimidation won’t build the party or the country,” the statement added.
It called on the public and party members to disregard the meeting and its outcomes, insisting that those who aspire to lead must first be seen to obey the laws of the land, waring that arbitrary actions and unconstitutional processes would only exacerbate the party crisis.
