Labour Party crisis: Fire on the mountain as Otti dares Abure

Keep up with the latest news and be part of our weekly giveaways and airtime sharing; follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates. Click to Follow us

The suspended National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Barrister Julius Abure, has come under fire from Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Abia State Governor Alex Otti, who claims that Abure is the main source of the party’s internal strife.

In an interview with Nigeria Info FM on Wednesday, Ekeoma said, “Mr. Abure is the one destroying the Labour Party. He’s betraying the progressive ideals of the party and, by extension, betraying Nigerians.”

He said that Abure had sacrificed the party’s integrity for his own gain and assured them that hard proof would be shown when it was time.

“At the right time, we will prove that this man sacrificed the party’s integrity for selfish reasons,” he said.

Abure’s leadership style was also criticized by Ekeoma, who brought up the absence of organizations in many states, including Abia.

“For instance, before Governor Alex Otti and others joined, the Labour Party didn’t even have an office in Abia. Yet Abure acted as though the party was firmly established across the country,” he remarked.

Ekeoma acknowledged that party leaders, including Abure, got financial and logistical support during the 2023 elections, despite rejecting claims of bribery.

“I’m not talking about bribes I’m talking about support. It wasn’t wrong to assist the national chairman or the party. But there were compromises everywhere you looked,” he added.

Ekeoma dismissed it with a jab when asked about Abure’s public challenge for proof.

“If Abure meant well for the party, he wouldn’t be boasting. We’re just laughing. He thinks he’s dealing with kids,” he said.

A cloud has been cast over the political movement that once won over millions of Nigerians, especially young and urban voters, by the growing visibility of the internal turmoil inside the Labour Party. Critics contend that suspended National Chairman Julius Abure’s activities go against the fundamental principles upon which the party was established, despite his continued defense of his integrity.

According to SaharaReporters on Tuesday, Abure had challenged Peter Obi and other candidates directly and defiantly, asking them to provide verifiable proof of any funds purportedly supplied to him or the party during the 2023 general election.

Abure denied getting any direct financial assistance from contenders, including Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential flagbearer, in a Symfoni video broadcast.

“If provoked,” Abure warned, he would not hesitate to expose Obi and others in the opposing faction, threatening to leave them “smelling like rotten eggs.”

Abure said, addressing party members in the Federal Capital Territory: “I want to challenge all of them. I watched them on television talking about corruption. Today, I throw the challenge to every one of them from Peter Obi downward, those who contested the election. Let them come out publicly and state what they gave me personally or what they gave to the party.

“It’s not enough to hide and make vague allegations about corruption. Who gave money? Who received it? Where was it sent? I challenge them to come forward with evidence. And if they can’t, let them forever remain silent.”

Abure also alluded to preparations to address the charges head-on at a global press conference. According to him, his silence up to this point has been motivated by respect and the desire for peace.

“As a leader, I kept quiet, believing perhaps they were making mistakes and would eventually come around. When discussions about agents and funding arose, I said nothing. I chose to bear the good, the bad, and the ugly. That’s leadership. You don’t throw away a flawed child,” he said.

“When I saw that some people were going beyond their boundaries, I came out and released a periphery of what played out. And I am sure that by now, that house is no longer together as it is. I am waiting for them from top to bottom to make any other move and I will open my mouth and when I open my mouth, wherever they go to, they will be like smelly egg, rotten egg that nobody will ever buy.”

Julius Abure criticized Abia State Governor Alex Otti, the sole incumbent governor of the Labour Party, saying, “Look at the governor, jumping around like a cricket from one place to another—we didn’t collect a single kobo from him. If he gave money to anyone, let him come forward and say so. We genuinely believed in changing the face of politics, which is why we welcomed everyone without asking for anything.”

“When I met him at Transcorp, he asked me, ‘Chairman, what do I do for you?’ I said, ‘Nothing. Put your money together and use it for the election.’
“We supported them but today the party has no N1,000 from any of them, not from the governor elected that we have suspended now or from the senators and the House of Reps members, apart from some them.”

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.