From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Peter Obi to resign his membership of the party for allegedly joining the new coalition party.
Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, on Wednesday, joined other members of the National Coalition of Political Opposition Movement in Nigeria, to formally unveil the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
The former Anambra governor acknowledged that the decision to adopt the ADC as the platform for the 2027 general elections was a difficult but necessary step for Nigeria’s political future.
Noting that the move followed deep reflection on the nation’s current challenges and the urgent need for transformative leadership, Obi said, “This decision was not made lightly. It comes from deep reflection on where we are as a country and what must be done to move forward. Our commitment is to sacrifice and work together towards the 2027 General Elections, ensuring that Nigeria gets a competent, capable, and compassionate leadership that will prioritise the nation’s future by putting the welfare of Nigerians first.”
Obi, who has proposed to serve a single term in office, stressed that no single group could bring about the sweeping change Nigeria needs, saying, “To dismantle the structures that keep our people in poverty and insecurity, we must build bridges, not walls, even when those bridges are uneasy.”
However, Obiora Ifoh, National Publicity Secretary of the LP faction, in a statement on Thursday, described the coalition members as power mongers, whose only interest is self and not the people.
Reiterating that the Labour Party is “not available for people with a dual agenda, people with a deceptive persona”, the faction warned Nigerians that the often-mouthed ‘new Nigeria is possible’ is a ruse and cannot be achieved with the assemblage of old, recycled, desperate, and frustrated politicians in the coalition.
The faction alleged that members of the coalition were those who had mismanaged Nigeria over the years
“We are aware of several nocturnal meetings between Peter Obi and some of our members, lobbying them to join him in his new party. We’re also aware that a number of them have refused to defect with him.
“Labour Party has consistently said it is not part of the coalition and therefore, any of our members who are part of the coalition are given within 48 hours to formally resign their membership of the party.
“Labour Party is not available for people with a dual agenda, people with a deceptive persona. The party will not avail itself to individuals who have one leg in one party and another leg elsewhere. People who claim to be in the Labour Party in the morning and are in coalition in the evening.
“Nearly 70 percent of the Nigerian population are youths, tired of the old order, tired of gerontocrats deciding their fate. The new Nigeria that the youths are dreaming of is not what can be realised from what we are seeing in the coalition. These people are opportunistic politicians who are only interested in relaunching themselves into the circle of power, people who are desperate to continue holding on to power.
“The new Nigeria of our dreams can only be realised through the Labour Party, and the party is willing to lead Nigerians along that trajectory.
“I, therefore, urge all members of the party to remain loyal and keep the party structure intact ahead of future elections.”
