LP crisis: Party leadership, Obi’s aide fight dirty
There appears to be no end in sight in the ongoing crisis of confidence between the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) and some of its partners.
This is sequel to a renewed war of words which followed a supposedly harmless visit by the party’s National Leader, Mr. Peter Obi, to the National Chairman of the LP, Comrade Julius Abure, earlier this week.
Obi, who was the party’s Presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections had paid a visit to the party’s chairman at the National Secretariat during which he addressed party supporters from the Abuja chapter who were on a solidarity visit.
He had while addressing the crowd addressed Abure as, “my chairman”.
While the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) described the visit as an endorsement, Obi’s media team issued a disclaimer.
The LP Presidential candidate’s spokesman , Dr. Yunusa Tanko, had in a statement asked party supporters not to misconstrue the visit because it wasn’t an endorsement.
He equally noted that Obi’s meeting with Abure was part an ongoing effort to promote peace and reconciliation among feuding power blocs within the party.
However, National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, on Friday, accused Yunusa of pursuing a personal agenda.
The party spokesman said, “We must state here that Yunusa Tanko, cannot surreptitiously in connivance with the NLC hijack the leadership of the party through the back door.
“On Tuesday, Yunusa also attempted to twist the well intentioned visit of our National Leader to the Labour Party headquarters in Abuja on a solidarity with the newly elected National Working Committee where he pledged to support the party leadership and work for the reconciliation of the aggrieved members of the party.”
He noted that the claim that Obi met with the NLC political arm and the TUC last Wednesday, have been fact checked and found to be untrue.
The LP spokesman further declared that Tanko was National Chairman of the defunct National Conscience Party, (NCP ) for 13 years but that the party under his watch failed to win a single seat anywhere in Nigeria.
Ifoh further said, “However, by the time he came to Labour Party, cap in hand begging, the leadership of the party decided to rehabilitate him politically hence he was appointed as a Director of Media in the party and subsequently seconded to be the spokesperson at the Presidential Council which has since been dissolved immediately after the Presidential election.
“The current leadership of the party without sounding immodest has shown capacity and political sagacity by producing a state Governor, 7 Senators, 35 House of Representatives members and numerous members of the state Assembly members.”
Although Tanko said he wouldn’t dignify Ifoh’s “tarraide” with a response, a supporter on X @kaizer 747 wrote: “ Yunusa Tanko is speaking for all of us. Abure is an illegal occupant of that office and all of you including this handler will be booted out in due time . You are running when no one is pursuing you. I only blame @Peter Obi for his stunning silence on this issue.”
