Politics

Obi, Otti responsible for LP crisis not APC, says Abure

Published

4 weeks ago

June 11, 2025

National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure

Obi, Otti responsible for LP crisis not APC, says Abure

The internal crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) has taken a new turn as the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, has pointed fingers at its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, accusing them of orchestrating the current leadership tussle.

In a surprising twist, the LP absolved the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of any involvement in the crisis. This directly contradicts earlier assumptions that external political forces might be behind the instability within the party.

According to Abure, the party remained stable until Obi and Otti allegedly set up a caretaker committee in Abia State, despite the fact that the current leadership’s tenure was still active. He argued that their actions undermined the party’s existing structure and sowed the seeds of division.

Obi in an interview on national television on Monday, blamed the crisis in the LP on the Federal Government, whom he accused of using infiltrators to destabilise the party.

“This is what you get, always, right? This is what you always get in Nigeria, because we now live in a country of propaganda and lies, and they manufacture it.

“The problem we have in Labour Party is a problem instigated and sustained by the government of today.

“I don’t need to tell you when you have a party chairman who calls a state governor a dwarf and dwarf thinking. Forget about me, so it’s not weak.

“Okay, I’m weak, but it’s not weak. Is every other person there weak? So we’re not sincere with ourselves.

“You speak the truth and they call you names. And we now live in a country of propaganda and lies. They are trying to put problems everywhere, they want to even put problems in families”, he said in a response to a direct question on the cause of the crisis in the LP.

In a statement on Tuesday, the National Secretary of the Abure faction, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, downed what he said was Obi’s penchant for “misinformation” on the state of affairs in the LP by not telling the truth.

The camp challenged Obi to provide proof of how the federal government or the APC was responsible for the crisis.

It stated: “It is therefore pertinent to put on record that the problem with the Labour Party was not created by the ruling party, (APC), rather the problem in the Labour Party was created and sustained by Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, who is presently serving suspension for anti-party activities.

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“We dare Obi to produce any tangible or intangible evidence which suggests remotely or otherwise that the Abure leadership of the Labour Party is in bed with the APC-led government.

“Nobody is infallible and it behooves on anyone who makes mistakes to be bold enough to own it. When good leaders fail, they should own up to their responsibilities. Obi failed in providing leadership for the party. He should own up to his mistakes. It is therefore shameful for Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti to continue to accuse the government of infiltrating the Labour Party and by so doing demarketing the party.”

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The camp recalled the sacrifices the LP had to make in the past in order to accommodate Obi to contest the election in 2023, expressing surprise how he did not complain at the time that there were infiltrators in the party.

“This same government was in existence in 2022 when the party made six aspirants, including Prof. Pat Utomi to step down for Peter Obi as the party’s candidate. The government was in existence when the party criss crossed all the nooks and crannies of the country including the insecurity prone areas campaigning for Peter Obi in 2022 and 2023.

“The government was in existence when the national chairman, Julius Abure travelled across Europe and the United States to galvanise support for Peter Obi. The government was also in existence when the party leadership mobilised its members across the state leading to over six million votes won during the election”, it said.

The party also went down memory lane to recount the efforts made to challenge the outcome of the 2023 polls.

The statement added: “It was the same leadership that you claimed has been infiltrated that stood with Peter Obi throughout the tribunal and up to the Supreme Court. The same Abure appeared in court more than Obi refusing to be cowed when a splinter group wanted to hijack the process. The government was in existence when Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti were given sole tickets for 2023 even against the status book.

“For the record, there was no problem in the Labour Party until Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti went to Umuahia, Abia State to create an illegal and unconstitutional Caretaker Committee that polarized the party. And may I ask, is it the ruling party that sent Obi and Otti to Umuahia to create a division in the party?

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“They were also aware that the courts; from the lower court up to the Supreme Court clearly affirmed the leadership of the party, but Peter Obi and Alex Otti surreptitiously plotted to hijack the leadership of the party by instigating the division. Again, is it the government in power that created the division or forced them to march to INEC headquarters to exhibit their ignorance?

“For Peter Obi to be responding to the comment where the National Chairman referred to the governor as being dwarfy in knowledge, we want to say clearly that there is no action without a reaction. The National Chairman was only responding to a pejorative comment made by the governor wherein he referred to the National Chairman as ‘masturbating’.

“The governor neither retracted nor apologised for that reckless statement. He showed utter disrespect to the constituted authority of the party; to the man who went out of his way to help him achieve his ambition to be a governor.

“If the governor is not limited or dwarfy in knowledge, he would have appreciated the import of the Supreme Court judgement which practically resolved the crisis in the party but these men were only blinded by their inordinate desire to wrestle the party from the present leadership.

“The party leadership has moved on since the Supreme Court judgement and we are working hard to reposition the party, to restore confidence in our members, and prevent further membership hemorrhage being witnessed across virtually all opposition parties in Nigeria today. We therefore think that it is improper for any member of the party, who means well for the party, to continue to make such unguided statements.

“Labour Party will never go into any alliance with any other party to betray our candidates. We had every opportunity in 2023 to do so, but we chose to stand by Peter Obi and even Alex Otti before and even after the general election, when their matters were in court, but we were very consistent because of the bigger picture. And now that they have failed in their plot to dislodge a lawful leadership, they have simply resorted to blackmail instead of showing gratitude.

“One takeaway from Obi’s interview is that he has acknowledged that Abure is the National Chairman of the Labour Party as he clearly stated. We are therefore calling on Peter Obi and other aggrieved members of the party to understand and digest the fact that Barrister Julius Abure leadership has come to stay and nothing can change.”

Obi, Otti responsible for LP crisis not APC, says Abure

Politics

Stop blaming Tinubu for your self-inflicted confusion, APC tells ADC

Published

4 hours ago

July 9, 2025

Trends Admin

APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka

Stop blaming Tinubu for your self-inflicted confusion, APC tells ADC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied allegations by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of a plot to destabilise the party, describing the claims as false, baseless, and a cover-up for its internal crisis.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Felix Morka, APC national publicity secretary, said the ADC is “haunted by its own shadow” by resorting to “lies and deception” in a bid to stay relevant.

On Monday, the ADC alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is working with unnamed federal officials to coerce its state chairmen in the north-east and north-west during a “secret meeting”.

But Morka said the opposition party failed to offer any credible evidence and only cited “nonsensical intelligence” to support what he called a fictitious narrative.

“Clearly, there was no such meeting, and certainly, no one could have been coerced or intimidated at a meeting that never was,” he said.

Morka added that the ADC’s claims were a “pre-emptive excuse” for its looming collapse, likening the party to “Humpty Dumpty, whose great fall could not be put back together again”.

He said the ruling party had no interest in sowing discord in the ADC, which he described as a “mortally wounded” group battling internal strife.

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“The ADC needs no help from our great party to unravel,” Morka said.

He accused the coalition’s leadership of hijacking the party through a “Gestapo-like takeover” and lacking the competence to manage internal affairs.

Morka said the ADC is now a gathering of “failed and restless presidential contenders” who had plundered other opposition platforms before arriving at the opposition party.

“What good can possibly come out of a coalition of our country’s most inept politicians and architects of misrule, corruption, poverty, and underdevelopment?” he queried.

He added that the party had failed to present any alternative vision for governance beyond attacking the APC and President Tinubu.

“The ADC and its leaders may be convinced of their ability to lie their way to presidential victory, but they have a highly intelligent and discerning Nigerian electorate to contend with,” he said.

Morka credited the Tinubu administration with “economic reconstruction and wholesome transformation,” saying the president’s achievements were “incomparable and unassailable”.

“While the opposition wallows in self-inflicted confusion, the Tinubu administration and our great party remain undistracted and will continue to build a virile and vibrant country for this and future generations of Nigerians,” Morka said.

On Sunday, Morka said the APC is not worried about the emergence of an opposition coalition seeking to unseat Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Morka claimed that current leaders of the ADC plunged Nigeria into economic stagnation and poverty.

Stop blaming Tinubu for your self-inflicted confusion, APC tells ADC

Politics

LP chairman joins Lagos APC ahead of local govt poll

Published

4 hours ago

July 9, 2025

Trends Admin

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu

LP chairman joins Lagos APC ahead of local govt poll

The Labour Party (LP) Chairman in Apapa Local Government of Lagos State, Prince Femi Badia, yesterday led some members of the party across Lagos Central to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Badia declared for the ruling party at the Lagos Central Senatorial District APC Mega Rally, held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena (Formerly Onikan Stadium), Lagos.

He said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu s performance and the need to support him and President Bola Tinubu in 2027 to record more successes motivated their decision.

Badia added he and supporters defected to join forces APC to ensure the ruling party wins Saturday’s council polls in the senatorial district.

Badia said: “We are also here to work with APC to deliver the forthcoming council polls to all its local government chairmen and councillors. We are grateful for the privilege to be on this stage and talk to the people. I can assure you that come Saturday, we will deliver our polling units. We are starting ‘Operation Go to Your Polling Units and Deliver for APC’ from now. I can also assure you that in the 2027 general elections, our President will emerge victorious” he said.

Badia, who thanked party leaders for accepting the group, said that the defectors were from four local governments in the district.

Lagos State APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, who received the defectors, commended the Chairman of Local Government Campaign Council, Alhaji Babatunde Balogun, for facilitating the defection of the LP members.

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Ojelabi, who presented the party flags to the defectors, commended them for joining the progressives, saying their decision would be rewarded.

Urging the defectors to work hard within the party, Ojelabi, however, said that the rewards would be based on hardwork and the value added by the former LP members.

“Thank you for seeing the reality of the progressives. I welcome you on board and I am going to assure you that you will be properly integrating into the party. I promise you that our candidates will not disappoint you. They are going there to complement Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu. The opposition is in disarray,” Ojelabi said.

Governor Sanwo-Olu represented by Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, told the party faithful to arm themselves with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) against Saturday.

Urging party leaders and members to mobilise voters at the Lagos Central Senatorial District, Sanwo-Olu tasked stakeholders to make the President proud with total victory.

“We must not put our President to shame on Saturday. Tinubu is promised made and promise kept. We have done a lot for the state.

So, we have a party all of us can be proud of and sell to the electorate,” he said.

Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs Mojisola Meranda, urged the electorate to cast their vote for the candidates of the APC.

LP chairman joins Lagos APC ahead of local govt poll

Politics

Wike cannot be trusted, Momodu warns Tinubu

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2025

Trends Admin

Dele Momodu

Wike cannot be trusted, Momodu warns Tinubu

The publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to cease promoting the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 general elections, citing Wike’s questionable character and erratic attitude.

Speaking on Channels Politics Today in response to Wike’s recent appearance on a television programme in which the minister attacked political rivals and former associates, Momodu described Wike’s behaviour as “a public display of someone who has lost control,” warning that such a figure should not be elevated to positions of greater national influence.

“My appeal to President Bola Tinubu is that no matter what you are expecting to gain from Wike in 2027, he is not the kind of character you should promote,” Momodu said. “Not the kind of man who should hijack our collective patrimony.”

Momodu, who stood for president under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, attributed his disagreement with Wike to their shared presidential ambitions.

He claimed he had formally written to Wike to advise him of his decision to run, only to be warned by a previous president that the PDP ticket had become prohibitively expensive.

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“Wike had raised the stakes to $30,000 per delegate. That’s over N17 billion. Even if I sold my entire family, I couldn’t raise that kind of money,” he stated.

Momodu further alleged that Wike mocked his candidacy publicly. “He went on air and laughed at me, asking what someone like me who lives on Twitter was doing in the race. That’s when I knew this wasn’t just politics; it was personal,” he said.

Despite acknowledging past professional relationships, Momodu insisted that his media company added significant value to Wike.

“We helped polish his image. We trained him in public speaking. But you can take a man out of the bush; you can’t take the bush out of the man,” he said.

Momodu recalled Wike’s early political career, saying he once liked his former boss, Rotimi Amaechi, but everything changed once Wike ascended to power.

He likened Wike’s current behaviour to intoxication. “What I saw on display last Friday was a man soaked in esoteric spirits. Alcohol and drugs often have the same effect,” Momodu said.

The remarks add to the mounting tension inside the PDP and the broader political discourse ahead of the 2027 polls, with Wike remaining a divisive character both within his party and across the political scene.