Abure Accuses Obi, Otti Of Destabilising Labour Party

 

 Former Labour Party Chairman Julius Abure has accused the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, of triggering the leadership crisis currently rocking the party.

Abure, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, alleged that the Labour Party had been operating peacefully until Obi and Otti backed the establishment of a caretaker committee in Umuahia.

According to him, the decision to create the committee disrupted the party’s stability and remains the root cause of the prolonged internal conflict.

“Now let me put it very clearly, Alex Otti and Peter Obi destabilised the tranquillity of the party. You will recall that the party was running smoothly, without major disagreement in the party. It was Peter Obi and Alex Otti who went to Umuahia to set up this illegal caretaker committee that has become an albatross to the leadership of the party,” Abure said.

READ ALSO: INEC Meets With Parties, Defends Decision To Appeal Court Ruling On Primary Deadlines

He maintained that the crisis cannot simply be ignored because those he considers responsible continue to feature prominently whenever the party’s leadership dispute is discussed.

“Because the crisis is still lingering, we cannot stop talking about it. Each time you talk about the crisis in the Labour Party, the names that feature prominently are Peter Obi and Alex Otti, and they are the cause of the crisis in the party. Not until the crisis in the party is finally resolved and dusted, we cannot stop talking about it,” he said.

 

‘Not An Interloper’

 

Abure also rejected suggestions that he is an outsider within the Labour Party, instead describing Senator Nenadi Usman as the “interloper.”

“I need to make it very clear that I am not an interloper in the Labour Party. If there is any interloper in the Labour Party, I think it is Senator Nenadi Usman that is the interloper.”

Abure argued that the legal battle over the party’s leadership is yet to reach a final conclusion. He recalled that after the party’s 2024 convention in Nnewi, the Federal High Court upheld the validity of the convention and recognised the leadership under him, a decision he said was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.

According to him, the matter only resurfaced when Nenadi Usman initiated fresh legal proceedings earlier this year, resulting in another Federal High Court judgment that was also upheld on appeal.

He disclosed that his group has appealed the latest judgment and remains confident that the Supreme Court will ultimately determine the issue.

“As it stands today, we have appealed that judgment, and the Electoral Act is clear that for you to bring any matter that has to do with pre-election issues, you must have participated in all the processes leading to the election, including the primaries and nomination of candidates.”

Abure explained that his group is continuing to participate in party activities to avoid being disadvantaged while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a protracted leadership dispute since the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, with rival groups laying claim to the party’s national leadership. The conflict pitched Abure against a National Caretaker Committee led by former Finance Minister, Senator Nenadi Usman, with both camps pursuing separate legal and political strategies over control of the party.

On January 21, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had, reaffirmed the earlier judgment of the Supreme Court that removed Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Senator Nenadi Usman as the legitimate leader of the party, to the exclusion of all others.

Dissatisfied with that decision, Abure approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the judgment of the lower court.

However, in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi in April, the appellate court affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court.

The post Abure Accuses Obi, Otti Of Destabilising Labour Party appeared first on Channels Television.