LP suspends treasurer, say it only realized N1.2 billion from sale of forms

From Jude Opara, Abuja

Certainly, the last is yet to be heard concerning the crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP), with the National Working Committee (NWC) on Thursday suspended the embattled treasurer, Mrs. Oluchi Oparah.
Opara had accused the National Chairman of the party, Barr. Julius Abure of mismanaging over N3.5 billion of the party’s funds.
In a statement after the NWC meeting, National Publicity Secretary (NPS) of the party, Obiora Ifoh said the decision to suspend the treasurer was taken after she shunned a meeting of the NWC as well as an invitation by the disciplinary committee that was set up to look into her claims.
“We see this as an affront to the party leadership and millions of our members who are watching on how their party’s image which they have laboured hard to build is trolled by one ingrate. The disciplinary committee has however recommended to the National Executive Council of the party through the National Working Committee that Ms Oluchi Opara be suspended from the Labour Party for a minimum of 6 months. This suspension is with immediate effect”.
The statement also stated that contrary to the claims of N3.5 billion, the party only raked in the sum of N1.2 billion, not just from the sales of forms but also from fundraisers for the 2023 elections.
Ifoh also stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has audited the accounts of the party and also given it a clean bill of health.
“She also alleged that the party amassed a whooping N3.5 billion naira from sale of forms from the 2023 election. We wished that was true but the truth is that the party realized only N1.2 billion only from not just sale of forms but also from other sources including membership cards, donations amongst others. The party through the campaign bodies and support groups realized another N800.000.000, a fund solely managed by the Campaign Organization, not the party.
“The party accounts have been properly audited up till June 2023 and have since been submitted and received by INEC. It may surprise you to know that not many political parties have submitted their 2022 audited accounts. The allegation that audited account was doctored is a matter of libel which we have taken note. She will be made to give further clarification as how banks transactions are falsified as auditors only work with evidences of transactions emanating from statements from the banks”.
The statement further accused Oparah of working as a mole within the party giving support to those who are alleged to be working from outside to destroy the party after its surprise performance during the 2023 presidential election.
“After the 2023 general election, the Labour Party was marked for total annihilation by the system for daring to upstage the status quo of the political class and up till today, the battle over the soul of the LP has continued to intensify.
“It is no longer news that a few months ago, five members of the National Working Committee of the party chose to be agents of disintegration and the whole nation stood by us as we flushed them out. Smarting from that euphoria, little did we know that the fumigation was far from complete until late last year when signs emanate that our National Treasurer, Ms Oluchi Opara, a key member of the executive turned to be a mole in the house and has continued networking with the expelled members of the party leadership.
“It may surprise you to know that the text of the Press conference by Ms Opara was actually written for her since November 2023 by the camp of the dissident former members, a copy she tendered in one of our December NWC meeting. The leadership of the party made series of efforts to dissuade her from not pulling down the roof of the home she has lived in for 10 years as the longest serving Treasurer in history of political party in Nigeria”.
The LP equally alleged that Oparah was driven by greed, hence her request for a brand new car and a duplex at a choice area in Abuja. It even claimed to have made efforts to pacify the treasurer, but he chose to destroy the party.
“Because the party was smarting out from a crisis and afraid of further crisis, it pleaded with the Ms Opara to toe the path of honour not to conflagrate the party and even made her some promises. But her insistence of a brand new car, a duplex in the highbrow area in Abuja and a huge sum as her price eventually truncated whatever pacification efforts”.
On the allegation that Abure forged the signature of the former Chairman, Alhaji Abdukadri Abdulasalam, the LP said Oparah was only on a witch-hunt which made her not to remember that Abure only emerged Chairman four years after the death of the former Chairman.
“Julius Abure took over the rein of the party in 2021 after the death of the former Chairman, Alhaji A. Abdulsalam in December of 2020. A former Deputy National Chairman, Mrs Maria Lebeke emerged as the acting National Chairman with of course Abure as the National Secretary. Ms Opara alleged that Abure forged signature of the late chairman two months after his death to withdraw huge sums of money but her memory was so short to remember that Abure only emerged as the Chairman about four months after the demise of the former Chairman. She also forgot in a hurry that she and the late chairman exclusively operated the accounts of the party”.