APC Using Our Expelled Members To Create Crisis – Labour Party Says

The Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC), of the Labour Party (LP) pointed accusing fingers at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that it was sponsoring some expelled dissident members of the LP with the sole intent to destabilise the Party.

National Secretary of the LP, Umar Farouk, who made the allegation at a press conference at the LP’s National Secretariat, Abuja, said that the leadership of the Party was aware of the desperate plot by the APC to deliberately cause confusion within the rank and file of the Labour Party with a view to scuttle its chances in the scheduled Governorship election in Imo State.

Farouk said that the expelled members of the LP who rebelled against the Party are again devising other means to misinform members of the public on the progress being made by the party.

In the words of Farouk; “Our Party, the Labour Party, surprised many Nigerians with the huge success it achieved during the last general election and became a household name to the envy of the older political parties.

“You also know how the ruling party, APC forced itself into power at the expense of the Labour Party and the entire Nigerians. We are still in the tribunal challenging both the process and outcome of the presidential election.

“In order to ensure a subjugation of the Labour Party, the APC has deployed all manner of strategies to stifle Labour Party, part of which was to sponsor insurrection amongst some suspended former members of the party that include Lamidi Apapa and a few others.

“Their assignment was to ensure that no progress is achieved in the party. The heavily-funded dissidents have tried to mislead the courts and some section of the media to harass the party leadership, but all have failed.

“Only recently, the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City affirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of Labour Party (LP). And only yesterday, the Court of Appeal Owerri, which sat in Abuja, while giving judgement in the case brought before it by one Basil Maduka, one of the two aspirants that were deceived by the Apapa camp to participate in their illegal primaries also ordered that the status quo remains with Senator Athan Achonu as the validly nominated candidate of Labour Party for 2023 Imo governorship election.

“It noted that Basil Maduka has no locus to seek redress in the court as he is not known by the Labour Party. For emphasis, you may recall that Apapa group had hoodwinked and arranged governorship primaries for two members of the Labour Party, namely Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu and Sir Maduka, after which Ukaegbu won the contest.

“Maduka was piqued by the outcome of the fake primaries and had gone ahead to challenge the emergence of Ukaegbu. He sued both Ukaegbu and the Labour Party.

“Neither the authentic Labour Party led by Barrister Julius Abure nor its candidate Senator Athan Achonu was put on notice and were not aware of the situation,” Farouk said.