The National Chairman of a faction of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has said that Governor Alex Otti of Abia State should come clean about his true political stance rather than claiming he is still a member of the Labour Party.
In a statement released on Friday in Abuja, Abure accused Governor Otti of sending mixed signals to the public by holding on to the Labour Party while allegedly working behind the scenes with another political coalition. He also claimed that Otti’s support for an “unlawful caretaker committee” is proof of his disloyalty to the party.
Abure said, “Our attention has been drawn to Otti’s interview where he claimed he is still a member of the Labour Party. We are not going to fall for his deception again.”
He questioned how Governor Otti could say he belongs to the Labour Party when, according to him, Otti used another party’s platform — the Zenith Labour Party — to carry out the most recent local government elections in the state. He also said the governor is responsible for creating and funding a caretaker committee that is now aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“How can he claim to be in the Labour Party when he conducted the last local government election in Abia State using the Zenith Labour Party as his platform? He formed and is funding the illegal caretaker committee that has now formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC),” Abure said.
Abure also noted that important political figures close to Governor Otti, including Senator Nenadi Usman, who chairs the said committee, and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, have already joined the new coalition. This, according to Abure, makes Otti’s Labour Party membership claim even more doubtful.
“We are shocked that Otti is paradoxically trying to mislead Labour Party members by claiming continued membership. In any event, he was indefinitely suspended from the party due to his anti-party activities,” he added.
Abure also noted that the Labour Party is now focusing on the future, especially the 2027 general elections. He said the party wants to rebuild with people who are fully committed to its values and vision.
“Labour Party is on the move again. We have the best political brand in Nigeria, and we’re eager to engage young Nigerians who have the nation’s interest at heart,” he added.
He described the new opposition alliance as a group of unrelated individuals with no shared values, saying they are only interested in power, not progress.
“Labour Party is not and will not be part of any coalition. These so-called coalitions are selfish, opportunistic, and driven by power grabs, not principle. No true democrat would subscribe to such political amalgam.”
Abure ended his remarks by calling on Governor Otti to officially leave the party and stop pretending to be part of it.
“You cannot be in the Labour Party and work against it at the same time,” he said.
