LP leaders claim Peter Obi’s internal activities may cost him the presidency
The Labour Party (LP) Chairmen in the 36 states of Nigeria held a press conference on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, where they explained why they think their party’s standard bearer, Peter Obi, may not win the upcoming presidential election. The chairmen, who are members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), cited what they called Obi’s “undemocratic internal activities” and lack of preparedness for the presidential race as reasons for their skepticism.
According to the chairmen, Obi has failed to recognize the importance of the party leadership in the local chapters, which they believe is his greatest undoing. Instead of working with them, they claim that Obi has chosen to work with cronies and support groups, which they say has led to the mismanagement of the party’s goodwill.
During the press conference, which was led by the Coordinating Chairman for the 36 states, Sani Abdulsalam, the chairmen bemoaned the lack of LP’s polling agents and accused Obi of insensitivity and high-handedness. Abdulsalam stated that the party’s state executives have never been respected by the party leadership, and that Obi has no respect for the party executives at state levels.
Abdulsalam went on to recount a meeting the chairmen had with the National Chairman, Julius Abure, where they discussed the logistics support for state chapters and national officers towards effective mobilization of members for the presidential and National Assembly election on Saturday, February 25, 2023. During the meeting, Abure allegedly said that the presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has no confidence in all the 36 state chapter leaderships but would rather choose to work with their cronies and support group that came with him.
The National Chairman also reportedly said that money for agents will not be sent to any state chairman or national officers except those three NWC members, including a woman, and that all state chairmen and 19 other members already picked by Obi himself will be given monies meant for party agents. However, as of the time of the press conference, no alert had been received by any state chairmen, and the chairmen claim that money was paid based on ethnic and religious consideration because only persons of a particular ethnic group currently run the campaign of Mr. Peter Obi with the national chairman, which has polluted the party.
The LP Chairmen reiterated that, as members of the party’s National Executive and National Working Committee (NWC), it is their opinion and informed conclusion that Obi cannot win this election since all party executives have been sidelined. They concluded that Obi is not ready and is grossly ill-prepared for the presidential race.
The statements made by the LP chairmen are a clear indication of the internal wrangling and disunity within the party, and it remains to be seen how this will impact their performance in the upcoming presidential election.
