LP crisis: Apapa denies withdrawing Obi’s petitions from tribunal

By Christiana Ekpa

The Lamidi Apapa faction of the Labour Party has denied claims that it approached the presidential election tribunal to withdraw the petition filed by the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Recall that the embattled Julius Abure faction had on Tuesday raised the alarm that Apapa and his team had gone to the tribunal in Abuja to withdraw Obi’s petition challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu.
But, Apapa described the publication as one laced with deliberate falsehood, saying it is an “epistle of personal bitterness, ignorance and complete unintelligent outburst.”
In a statement made available to journàlists on Wednesday by the faction’s Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, Apapa said Abure had been restrained by the Abuja high court “over confirmed allegations of forgery of court seal” and others, saying it is not new that he could engage in “cheap blackmail to gain public sympathy in order to cover up his criminal tracks.”
Apapa challenged Abure to produce a copy of the letter which he or the Secretary signed to seek the withdrawal of the petition at the tribunal.
While saying he and his team would not be intimidated by “these wicked lies”, Apapa pointed out that the publication was “a well orchestrated plan by Abure to incite violence and chaos in order to make Nigeria ungovernable.”
The statement quoted the Labour Party leader as saying that he and his team would not engage in any verbal war with those he called “pedestrian political misfits and despots”, saying it was obvious that “Abure is trying to whip up sentiment on his travails.”
He concluded that the Labour Party under his leadership stands with Obi on the “mission to reclaim the mandate freely given to him and our party during the February 25th 2023 Presidential and National Assembly election.”