Alleged threats: Abure begs Tinubu to call Governor Otti to order

By Jude Opara, Abuja

As the crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) rages, the Julius Abure led faction of the party has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to call Governor Alex Otti of Abia state to order following an alleged threats to the factional National Chairman Barr. Julius Abure and members of his National Working Committee (NEC).

The faction In a statement issues on Monday by its National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim said they are alarmed by a statement by Governor Otti where he apart from disparaging Abure, equally called for his arrest.

Ibrahim added that the party would not have responded to the remarks attributes to Otti, but for the fact that the governor and his agents have continued to call out Abure and members of the NWC of the party.

“We are not only condemning this despicable action of the governor who was recently suspended by the party but are also seeking the intervention of well meaning Nigerians including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to persuade the governor from further threat to our party and the leadership.

“We ordinarily do not always respond to the rantings of most of our members who are undergoing disciplinary actions but on a deeper reflection and going by recent actions especially by this same governor, we deemed it necessary to point out that several threats coming from the governor and his agents in the last few months must not be swept under the carpet.

“It would be recalled that in the last few months, His Excellency, Dr Otti had ordered the arrest and detention of our National Vice Chairman, Comrade Ceekay Igara, the state chairman, Prince Ndubeze and other leaders of the party for holding a lawful party meeting in Aba, Abia State. In April this year, at a meeting of the disgruntled members of the party held at Transcorp, Governor Otti again, threatened Abure and his leadership with a ‘doomsday’ remark.

“His recent threat to arrest Abure and the National Working Committee members for suspending him is one threat too many. We are by this statement calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rein in on the governor and to remind him that there is no place for tyranny in a democratic system. We advice Alex Otti to know that the ‘Our Lives Matter’, politics or not”.

The Secretary further reminded Dr. Otti that he is a governor today because Abure and the leadership of the party decided to give him a platform to contest the 2023 election in which he emerged victorious.

“In case Governor Otti forgot, we were the ones that provided the platform for him, gave him forms, gave him waivers, supported him and campaigned for him. We rejected overtures and several offers which could have ended his ambition. We promoted him, defended his election in the courts until he became the governor.

“After he became the governor, he abandoned the same party leadership and today, he is dragging the party with us. It will interest you to know that on his swearing in, he could not even pay for the transportation of a few NWC members that attended the function. That was the day we realized we have entered “one chance” vehicle”.

The party equally accused Otti of being on a mission to destroy the Labour Party before returning to what it described as the party of his choice and preference.

“We have repeatedly said that Governor Otti is on a mission to stifle life out of the Labour Party ahead of 2027 general election before making way to his already known preferred destination. If not, why would a governor who has absolute cooperation with the leadership of his party at the centre, a governor who has publicly told the world that God used Abure to make him the governor, suddenly vacillate and somersaulted, and by so doing, unleashed an unnecessary crisis in his own party, where he once called the shots”.

The faction further reiterated its claims that the Supreme Court in its April 4 judgement did not remove Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.