The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has urged members of the party’s recently dissolved National Working Committee (NWC), led by Julius Abure, to put aside their differences and collaborate with the National Caretaker Committee to rebuild the party.
Obi made this appeal through Datti Baba-Ahmed during the inaugural meeting of the caretaker committee held in Abuja on Tuesday night. He emphasized the importance of unity within the party as it navigates its restructuring phase.
The former governor categorically stated that it was the party’s constitution that led to the unseating of Abure following the expiration of his tenure, reaffirming the legitimacy of the caretaker committee’s formation.
Obi’s call for reconciliation comes at a critical time for the Labour Party as it seeks to strengthen its foundations and prepare for future electoral challenges.
Obi said, “Listen, my friend, no governor unseated Abure; the constitution unseated him. Abure’s time elapsed. Nobody unseated him. As of today, Abure is our good friend and a loyal member. We want him back in the fold; we have roles for him to play.
“We didn’t have crisis. We managed a transition that was a bit bumpy and that was it. I tell you, no other political party of our size could do that in the time and manner that we did.
“We are a political party who went all the way to the Supreme Court claiming our 10 million votes. They were only able to give us six million votes. So we are a force to contend with in Africa. What we’ve done has never been done before. When PDP came, they had the military. We had nothing.”
Obi noted that the opposition party was ready to repeat and surpass the feat recorded during the 2023 elections in 2027 by producing a majority in the National Assembly and winning the presidential seat in 2027.
Earlier, the chairman of the Labour Party National Caretaker Committee, Senator Nenadi Usman, assured party members of the committee’s determination to rescue the party from the current challenges and restore and rebuild it as a veritable alternative platform for Nigerians.
She assured the committee’s readiness to lead the party on the path of reconciliation within the short time of its assignment.
Usman stated, “We are on a rescue mission, not just for the Labour Party, but I tell you for our dear nation, Nigeria. The interest this committee has generated extends beyond party lines.
“The number of telephone calls I have received not just from Labour Party members, but people from other political parties who told me that if we get this thing right, we will walk together. So we have a huge task.
“Our party, by the grace of Almighty God, will become a platform for all disenfranchised and unhappy Nigerians. People who are not happy with the way things are going, we are going to be the platform for them by the grace of God. Therefore, we must view this as a significant national assignment.”