POLITICS Labour Party’s day of drama at Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal

By Vivian Okejeme

The battle for the soul of the bubbling Labour Party, LP, seems to ladden with more fireworks in the offing. The drama that characterised the appearance of the party and it’s presidential candidate at the Preaidential Election Petitions Tribunal on Wednesday was a pointer that the LP is now a house divided against itself.

The party, whose presidential candidate, Mr Peter Gregory Obi, for February 25th, 2023, Presidential election, surprisedly garnered massive suppoet from a teeming population of youths who described themselves as “Obidients” appears to be on the verge of destroying itself with internal squabbles, if not checked.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had March 1, declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election with 8,794,726 votes, ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520. While Petter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) secured 6,101,533 votes.

Irked by the outcome of the election, Obi, who came third alongside his party headed to tribunal, insisting that the election results were manipulated and the process marred by irregularities.

As it stands now, the leadership crisis rocking the boat of the party, if not nip in the bud, will negatively affect their quest for recovering of the party’s “stolen mandate” currently on motion at the Presidential Election Petition Court, sitting at the Appeal Court, Abuja.

Leadership Crisis:

According to the stakeholders in the party, the perceived troublemakers who they named as the former national publicity secretary, Abayomi Arabambi and the Rivers State Chairman, identified as Favour, as well as the former Youth Leader, Anslem Eragbameh, were allegedly compromised to jeopardise Mr. Peter Obi’s petition pending at Tribunal.

Tracing the genesis of the leadership crisis, the acting National Chairman of the party, Lamidi Apapa and members of his camp accused the then National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure and other leaders of the party of forgery and conspiracy.

The aggreived members headed to Federal Capital Territory High court and obtained an order stoping Abure from parading himself at the chairman of the party .

Sequel to the order of the court and subsequent service on the party, Apapa said he was immediately and unanimously selected in acting capacity as the National Chairman of the party.

Consequently, Apapa who is currently entangled in a legal dispute with executives was said to have directed all the lawyers representing Obi to report to him for briefing.

However, the 36 state chairmen of the Labour Party (LP) were said to have passed a vote of confidence on Barrister Julius Abure as the authentic national chairman of the party, saying “any attempt to remove him from office must pass through a court of competent jurisdiction or through the National Executive Committee (NEC).”

Speaking through Kwara, Kano and Enugu spokespersons, Kehinde Rotimi, Mohammed Abdullahi and Cashmir Uchenna Agbo, respectively, the states chairmen maintained that the mechanisms of conflict resolutions as enshrined in their constitution is very clear, adding that the mechanisms must be exhausted before going to court.

“And you went to court to obtain an order and you came back to enforce the order by yourselves. It’s really unfortunate

“We heard that they went to court to take a particular order but they did not allow the court to determine the motion on notice, and they took laws into their hands to come and destroy our secretariat.

Court drama

At the resumed proceeding on Wednesday, May 17, a mild drama played out at the court after Apapa attempted to announce himself as a representative of the party.

He had, immediately the main door to the court room was opened, made his way to the line of chairs reserved for dignitaries and the petitioners.

Obi was already seated by the time Apapa attempted to take possession of one of the seats but was blocked by members of the party led by a man that was identified as the LP’s National Youth Leader.

When the factional LP Chairman noted that despite his spirited effort he would not be allowed to sit close to Obi, he relocated to the line of chairs reserved for members of the public.

Meanwhile, shortly after the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel adjourned the petition till Friday the 19th May for continuation of the prehearing session, Apapa, while stepping out of the courtroom, made attempt to address the media, but a group of youths that identified themselves as “Obidients”, pushed him away from the cameras, insisting that he lacked the right to speak for the party.

In the commotion that ensued, with Apapa being pushed back and forth by the aggrieved youths, in the process, his cloth was torn even as someone snatched his cap from his head.

Subsequently, the helpless factional LP Chairman, was bundled into protective custody with the help of the security operatives attached to the court.

Reacting, the embattled Apapa, in a press conference after the fracas, called on Obi to objectively intervene and resolve the heating chairmanship crisis.

On the allegation that he received the sum of 500 million Naira from external forces to destabilize the party, Apapa vehemently denied receiving any money or being influenced by anybody or group to work against the party.

He insisted that what happened at the Presidential court in which fracas broke out in the presence of Peter Obi, was disgraceful and a test to Obi’s leadership quality.

Specifically, Apapa informed that the leadership crisis would have been put behind them if the presidential candidate had respected the order of the federal Capital Territory High court which ordered Julius Abure and three others from parading themselves as National Officers of the party over their indictment for forgery and Perjury.

Further in his speech, he said that it was wrong of Obi to accord respect to Abure in-spite of the order of the court and as a presidential candidate seeking Justice from the same court of law.

He also said that is was wrong of Peter Obi to have claimed not knowing him adding that he worked closely and even travelled in the same flight with Peter Obi through out his Presidential electioneering campaign.

He therefore, appealed to Obi to be open minded, neutral, and objective so as to be able to stop the crisis.

Also speaking at the briefing the deputy National Chairman of the Party in the North Mike Ayuba Auta denied that the all Progressive Congress was behind the crisis adding that the allegation was baseless and unfounded.

Auta apologized to Nigerians who he said gave Labour Party over 6million votes during the last presidential Election, adding that that should not be discouraged by the current leadership crisis and assured that the dispute will soon be resolved.

Meantime, LP, alongside other parties in the suit pending at PEPC are still struggling to regularize thier processes to determine which documents to tender in court or not.

Respondents claimed that LP legal team walked of the meeting held to regulate their processes as ordered by the court.

They also revealed that the party refused to party the sum of N1.5million as demanded by Sokoto state to obtain the certify true copies of the documents requested.

However, the lead counsel, Dr Levy Uzoukwu SAN, denied the walked of meeting accusation, he, therefore, assured of total compliance and the readiness to pay the statutory amount for the documents.

Counsel to the 2nd and 3rd respondents, Wole Olanipekun, SAN also accused the INEC of frustrating thier effort to regularize their proceeding.

He submitted that five times they have written the electoral empire and five times they refused to responds to them.

“We are yet to receive about 70% of the documents the INEC supposed to send to us. Eg, in River state were the Resident Electoral Commission REc boldly told us they do not have any Form EC8A. We requested they put in writing.”

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