Mohamed Garba
The internal strife within the Labour Party (LP) has escalated dramatically, with the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, launching a scathing rebuke against its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Abure has publicly called on Obi to “accept that he is unable to provide leadership for the party” and to “move away from these ill-conceived narratives” regarding the ongoing crisis.
The fiery exchange follows Obi’s recent television interview where he alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was instigating the turmoil within the Labour Party. However, Abure swiftly dismissed this claim, accusing Obi of consistently misinforming Nigerians about the true reasons behind the party’s challenges.
“We sincerely hope he will introspect and move away from these ill-conceived narratives,” Abure stated in a statement issued by the Labour Party’s National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim. The statement highlighted Obi’s apparent inability to provide evidence for his APC instigation claims when pressed by his interviewer.
Abure contended that the crisis in the Labour Party was, in fact, “created and sustained by Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State,” who is currently serving a suspension for alleged anti-party activities. The party chairman challenged Obi to “produce any tangible or intangible evidence which suggests remotely or otherwise that the Abure leadership of the Labour Party is in bed with the APC-led government.”
The Labour Party leadership further asserted that “When good leaders fail, they should own up to their responsibilities. Obi was unable to provide leadership for the party. He should own up to his mistakes.” They branded it “shameful for Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti to continue accusing the government of infiltrating the Labour Party and demarketing it.”
Recalling the party’s journey in the lead-up to the 2023 elections, the statement questioned how the same “infiltrated” leadership could have facilitated Obi’s emergence as candidate, campaigned tirelessly across the country, and mobilized over six million votes. It also reminded Obi that “It was the same leadership that you claimed had been infiltrated that stood with Peter Obi throughout the tribunal and up to the Supreme Court.”
The party pointed to what it described as the root of the problem: “For the records, there was no problem in the Labour Party until Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti went to Umuahia, Abia State, to create an illegal and unconstitutional Caretaker Committee that polarised the party.”
Addressing a recent comment where Abure reportedly referred to Governor Alex Otti as “dwarfy in knowledge,” the party clarified, “The National Chairman was only responding to a pejorative comment made by the governor, wherein he referred to the National Chairman as ‘masturbating’.” The statement emphasized that Otti had neither retracted nor apologized for his earlier comment, showing “utter disrespect to the constituted authority of the party.”
Following the Supreme Court judgment affirming Abure’s leadership, the party affirmed its commitment to moving forward and repositioning. “We therefore think that it is improper for any member of the party, who means well for the party, to continue to make such unguided statements,” the statement concluded, calling on Peter Obi and other aggrieved members to accept that “Barrister Julius Abure’s leadership has come to stay and nothing can change that.”
