LP Chair confusion orchestrated, targeted at Obi

There are moves to scuttle the petition filed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Mr. Peter Obi, challenging the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as winner of the February 25 presidential election. Obi and his party, in the petition filed on their behalf by the lawyers, are challenging Tinubu’s election on both constitutional and moral grounds. A party source confirmed to Saturday Telegraph that there is a plan to install a weak leadership in the party that will sabotage the petition.

“We are aware of the schemes. It happened to us before the election, in our case against INEC to accept our candidates for Lagos and Ogun States. “The same person who wanted to sabotage the case is now a member of the illegal NWC that claimed to have taken over the leadership of the Labour Party. “We are ready for them; we will not allow them to succeed. The mandate is the mandate of the Nigerian people, not just the Labour Party or Peter Obi,” the source argued. Lamidi Bashir Apapa, National Vice-Chairman (South), on Thursday, announced that he has assumed office as LP National Chairman in acting capacity.

He was relying on the Abuja High Court order of April 5 that sacked Julius Abure as National Chairman. The same court relieved Alhaji Umar Farouk (National Secretary), Clement Ojukwu (National Organising Secretary) and Oluchi Opara (National Treasurer), from their duties, thereby paving the way for Apapa as the highest surviving National Working Committee (NWC) member, to assume office. Abure also said he obtained a court order from High Court 4, Benin City, Edo State, that same day, restraining LP executive of Ward 3, Arue Uromi, from suspending him as LP National Chairman. The Labour Party is accusing a former governor from one of the South- South states of engineering Abure’s suspension by his ward.

This same method was used to oust Adams Oshiomhole, as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as Prince Uche Secondus and now Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to the source, “the plan is to engineer an internal crisis in our party, remove the National Chairman and appoint someone who will do their biddings, to take his position. “We know the people behind it. Do forget our National Chairman is from Edo State, and you know that Obidient Movement was a threat to old politicians in Edo and Delta States in the last election. Most of them rigged their elections. “The fear is not just the presidential election but other petitions at the tribunals. “Okay, people who are unknown members of our party claimed to have suspended the National Chairman from his ward, but went ahead to include three key members of the NWC in the case they brought before the court. It is as good as sacking the entire NWC.” Apapa, after an NWC meeting, announced the reinstatement of the suspended National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi and National Youth Leader Anslem Eragbe. The two officials were suspended before the general elections for “gross misconduct.” Eragbe was accused of forgery and insubordination. The National Secretary, Alhaji Farouk had accused Arabambi of attempt to sabotage the LP from fielding candidates in Lagos and Ogun States, in the last general elections. He alleged that the party’s spokesperson was given the responsibility to upload the names of party’s candidates for governorship and House of Assembly elections, for Lagos and Ogun States on INEC portal, which he failed to do before the period allowed by the commission for political parties to do so. “The party didn’t know that he had ulterior motives and never had the intention of submitting the forms,” he stated, adding that “He frustrated the arrangement and made sure that no name was uploaded. “When the party found out and queried him, he apologised and promised to take the matter to the court with a view to getting INEC to accept the forms. “At this point, the distraught party began to suspect a foul play and on closer monitoring, it was realised that the matter was not diligently pursued in the court leading to the matter being dismissed at the Federal High Court. “The party was going to wield the big stick for dereliction of duty but again he pleaded that he would appeal the judgement and had also given a firm assurance that the forms will be uploaded. “It was on the basis of that that he was given the permission to pursue those cases on behalf of the party to the Appeal Court. “He once again lied to the party that there was valid appeal on the two states, Lagos and Ogun, but unknown to the party, he never filed any appeal proper, though he filed notice of appeal for Lagos but he didn’t consummate it, there were no documents, no evidence before the court. “When the party noticed that he was playing pranks and that he was merely deceiving the party, it quickly contracted another lawyer who pursued the case and got a judgement in Lagos within three weeks… That was how the Labour Party got the list of its candidates uploaded on the INEC portal.” The Ogun State chapter of the party had attempted to stoke the crisis in LP before the general election, with the expulsion of Dr. Doyin Okupe. Okupe was then the Director General of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council. But the party national leadership immediately overruled them, and said the chapter lacked such powers. The entire executive committee was sacked and a caretaker committee put in place. Apapa has also reinstated the sacked exco. The source said the party suspects possible hijack and has taken measures as much as possible to insulate the election petition from the party. The vice presidential candidate Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, said this in his tweet on Thursday, a night after the forceful takeover of the LP National Secretariat. Datti had tweeted: “H.E @peterobi included his name first, then the Labour Party, just in case the party got hijacked or compromised to withdraw the petition. You’re all dealing with a man who’s 2 steps ahead.” The resort to leadership crisis was arrived at after attempts to force the presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi, to go into exile, failed. A source close to the candidate said Obi was told to leave the country, to douse tension, as well as concern for his safety. “But he told them he does not have money to travel abroad. We know it is the kind of game played on (MKO) Abiola. “Abiola was deceived that his life was in danger (after the annulment of the June 12 presidential election), and was told to leave the country for his safety. That was the beginning of the death of the June 12 election,” the source explained. Spokesperson of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Dr. Yunusa Tanko, confirmed that the LP presidential candidate has been contacted by “associates, elder statesmen, family and friends about his personal safety, and has been under immense pressure, in the last few days, to leave the country to douse tension in the country.” The source said those in tahuet hreoarcittyio wn eorfe p weooprlreie eda caht tim”eP tehoepyl see ea Olwbai yins psuhboliwc. sheime hliomve i ne apchu btliimc;e s tohmeye want to take pictures with him, and this unsettles the APC. “They said Obi did not win the election, why do you want to restrict his movement? The person they told us won, has travelled out of the country for whatever reason. “Now that he has refused to leave the country, the next thing is to frame him up. Already, Alhaji Lai Mohammed wants him arrested for treason,” he stated. According to him, the interim government issue was floated by those in authority to discredit the opposition, and wondered how persons without the control of state apparatus could impose an interim government on the country. “But I can assure you, the petition before the tribunal will not be scuttled. It has already been filed, and whether Labour Party leadership is changed 20 times or not, it will not affect the petition,” he assured.