A group, the Alliance for All Labour Party Professionals and Stakeholders (AALPS) has warned that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi may face his worst electoral defeat in the 2027 presidential election if he continues to destabilize and unnecessarily factionalising the party.
The group also called on the leadership of the party to sanction and completely severe any ties with the former Anambra State Governor if he goes ahead to drag the party to the Supreme Court even after the Appeal Court has revalidated the current National Working Committee of the party.
In a statement issued by the National Convener, Dr. Blessing Elaigwu, the group maintained that the party has stagnated in the last one year due to lack of leadership from Peter Obi and unnecessary litigation which Peter Obi has brought upon the party.
The statement reads, “You will recall that the former Governor of Anambra State alongside the current governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti had in September last year convened an illegal stakeholders meeting in Umuahia where they plotted to change the Barrister Julius Abure led executive. Both leaders had also handpicked some of their cronies including Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of their stakeholders. But the Independent National Electoral Commission denied them recognition which resulted in them approaching both the lower and appeal courts where they lost. The Obi funded group has vowed to approach the Supreme Court to appeal the judgement of the Appeal Court.”
Dr. Elaigwu has however cautioned on the far reaching implication of sustaining the crisis when most other serious political parties are already strategizing ahead of the 2027 general election.
She said, “If Peter Obi thinks that he wants to destroy the party before moving to other political party as it is been said everywhere now that he is negotiating with another political party, and that the game plan is to systematically destroy the Labour Party completely before moving to another party. He must have known that, as he is fighting the party he is fighting himself and as he is working to destroy the party in this unfair manner, he is also destroying himself.
“We actually thought that Peter Obi is different from most other traditional politicians. What exactly have Abure and his executive done to deserve this back-stabbing? Obi was frustrated out of the PDP and Abure offered him a platform in the Labour Party. Ask Obi how much he paid to the party for the presidential ticket? This is the only presidential candidate of a major political party that could not donate ordinary bicycle to the party for campaign, even up till this moment. He refused to fund the party, yet this same party has even contemplated making him the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, yet he is busy funding crisis in the party.
“What a good leader would have done is, given the momentum of the 2023 presidential election, he should have consolidated the progress made, irrespective of the imperfection that may have been in the party. He was expected to consolidate, strengthen the party and get ready for 2027. Winning election is a game of number, but Obi is busy bringing up strategies to destroy the established structure and reduce the numerical strength of the party.
“We urge Peter Obi to move beyond this point and start working towards consolidating the gains the party made in 2023 before Nigerians completely withdraw their trust in him. This is especially when it is obvious that you didn’t fund the campaign. Nigerians, individuals sponsored the campaign, they put in their resources while some paid with their lives in order to build this movement. It is unfair for these Nigerians who died or injured in one way or the other in the cause of defending their choice of you, for entrusting their confidence in you. Have you taking time to see how you are dashing their hopes of a better Nigeria, attempting to waste their investment, by purposely removing your eyes from the goal and needlessly engaging in the mundane.
“Most Nigerians are frustrated that the action of Peter Obi is taking the nation back to pre 2023 just because of selfishness and his naivety. This is probably why he has not made much progress in his political career because someone who wants to be a leader must be a team player. You must be able to carry everybody along and accommodate all interests. Everything must not be about himself. He needs to rethink, otherwise, 2027 will be very difficult to achieve, the way he is going about it. The outcome of the coming election could be disastrous and may retire him from politics permanently if he fails to retrace his step.
“But if he is in anyway planning to dump the party as has been speculated elsewhere, we urge him to do so without further delay. He does not need to destroy the Labour Party before moving ahead. The party having tangentially grown and has become very popular in the last few years, will certainly not lack equally credible human material to flag its flags in the 2027 general election.”
The group however called on Peter Obi to halt any further attempts to approach the Supreme Court to appeal the judgements of the lower courts which have affirmed Abure and his executive.
“We also demand that Obi within the next forty eight hours call Abure to a round table for the necessary truce so as to salvage this party. Nigerians believe so much on the Labour Party as the other two big political parties have failed us. We cannot afford to lose this golden opportunity.”
