From: Femi Oyelola in Kaduna
Officials of Nigeria’s Labour Party (LP) have accused the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, and the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of attempting to hijack the party structure for personal political interests.
Party leaders, however, said they would resist what they described as a clandestine and desperate move by Otti and Obi.
In a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna yesterday, the LP’s National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, condemned what he called an “illegal” National Executive Council (NEC) meeting convened by Otti and Obi in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said, “At the end of their illegal meeting in Abuja, Mr Obi led other party outlaws to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in an attempt to pressure the Commission to take unlawful action against the party leadership.
“Their mission demonstrates the high level of desperation to seize control of the party’s structure. If the Supreme Court ruling truly supports them, why the rush to INEC to exert undue influence?”
Ibrahim also claimed that Obi and Otti offered a “soft landing” to the National Chairman, Julius Abure, by proposing to make him Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
“But unfortunately for them, Abure did not appoint himself chairman. It is not about personalities; it is about the supremacy of party organs and adherence to due process,” he said.
“It is not within anyone’s prerogative to allocate positions. This sort of political patronage undermines the sanctity of our democratic institutions. Such arbitrary behavior by leaders is partly responsible for the state of governance in the country.”
