The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has explained the reason he was not at the party’s convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday, March 27.
Obi gave the explanation while addressing his supporters on X Space on Friday, March 29.
He said he missed the convention because the party leadership, led by Julius Abure, failed to consult widely with important party stakeholders before holding the convention.
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In addition, Obi said he was more committed to creating a new Nigeria than a new Labour Party.
He emphasised the necessity of doing the right thing to save the party.
Besides, he reiterated the demand for an organisational structure to guide the ‘Obedient’ movement.
“It is the standard practice around the world where movements form themselves into blocs and are part of the political process,” he stated.
Two rival factions, headed by Abure and Lamidi Apapa, had been claiming leadership over the LP in the last year.
However, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on March 6, affirmed Abure as the party’s national chairman.
A Justice at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Hamza Muazu, had 2023 granted an ex-parte order, ordering that Abure and two other national officers stop parading themselves as leaders of the party for allegedly forging national documents.
Delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Abure challenging the court’s decision, Hamman Barka, leading a three-member panel of justices of the Court of Appeal, held that Abure’s appeal had merit and was accordingly allowed.
The ICIR reported how Abure was re-elected as the party’s chairman on Wednesday, March 27.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) immediately opposed the convention and Abure’s re-emergence as the party’s leader.
Similarly, the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) took over the party’s leadership hours after the convention and described the convention as a charade.
A reporter with the ICIR
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