In an expected development, the suspended deputy national chairman of the Labour Party, Lamidi Apapa, has approached all election tribunals handling pending Labour Party cases, including the presidential candidacy of Peter Obi, demanding the withdrawal of these cases.
This audacious move has sent shockwaves through the Nigerian political landscape.
The Labour Party leadership is fighting back, urging all arms of the judiciary, including tribunals and courts, to disregard Apapa’s “ignoble antics.” They have also called on law enforcement agencies such as the Police, DSS, and EFCC to arrest these “enemies of democracy.”
Acting national publicity secretary Obiora Ifoh, expressed the party’s concern in a statement published on the party’s website on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, stating, “Their actions show that they are working against the party and that they are working to destroy the party. If they claim that they have a problem with the national leadership of the party, will they also claim that they have a problem with the candidates of the party? What offence has the candidates of the party committed that they are now moving around to withdraw their matters from the tribunal?”
The Labour Party has faced a barrage of internal strife, with a breakaway faction led by Lamidi Apapa and other suspended members such as Samuel Akingbade, Gbenga Daramola, Anselem Eragbe, and Abayomi Arabambi attempting to sabotage its election petitions.
These former officers have been accused of conspiring to destroy the party and working against its interests.
Ifoh said further, “Approaching the tribunals to withdraw all the cases lodged by Labour Party candidates across [the] board is the height of subterfuge and treachery, and Nigerians will resist this ploy to plunge the nation into unnecessary turmoil.”
The Labour Party has called on tribunals to disregard any letters from the suspended members and requested the presidential election tribunal to ignore any correspondence asking for the withdrawal of Peter Obi’s petition. Additionally, they have asked law enforcement agencies to act swiftly and apprehend these “agents of destruction” before they cause further damage to the nation’s democracy.
As the Labour Party battles against these internal threats, Obiora Ifoh has been confirmed as the Acting National Publicity Secretary, filling the vacancy left after the expulsion of the former occupant. This move has been made in accordance with the party’s constitution and is supported by the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The ongoing turmoil within the Labour Party has left many questioning the party’s stability and the implications for Nigeria’s fragile democracy.
