We Need Peter Obi To Resolve Anambra LP Crisis – Apapa

The factional National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, has called on the party’s 2023 Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, to take the lead in resolving the ongoing crisis in Anambra State as the state approaches the November 2025 governorship election.

In an interview with Vanguard on Monday in Abuja, Apapa expressed that while he is not condemning Obi, there are certain responsibilities he believes the former presidential candidate has neglected, particularly concerning the situation in his home state of Anambra.

“I’m not trying to condemn our Presidential candidate. There is a need for him to do certain things which he has abandoned. On the Anambra issue, fortunately, he is from Anambra State. There is a crisis in Anambra, and he cannot resolve it alone. We would expect that our Presidential candidate wades into it,” Apapa stated.

He further highlighted his own involvement in resolving issues in his home state of Oyo, contrasting it with Obi’s lack of visible intervention in Anambra.

“Look at it, I’m from Oyo State. Since this crisis started, have you heard of any crisis in Oyo State? I interact with them, I have meetings. It is easy for him as Presidential candidate to wade into the situation in Anambra,” Apapa added.

Apapa also addressed the recent Supreme Court judgment that resolved the Labour Party leadership dispute.

He clarified that the judgment only removed Barr. Julius Abure from the position of national chairman, paving the way for him, as the Deputy National Chairman, to assume leadership in accordance with the party’s constitution.

“The Supreme Court said no court has the right to confer party leadership authority on anybody except the party itself,” Apapa explained.

He further noted that while the Nenadi Usman group took the matter to court, the judgment did not specify whether Abure could continue as chairman or whether another individual should take over.

He emphasized that the Supreme Court’s ruling simply directed the party to resolve its leadership issue internally.

“The court didn’t say the entire executive of Abure should be punished for his offence. It was only Abure that was removed. When the judgment said go back and resolve your matter internally, the question now is, at the time, Abure was still laying claim to the national chairmanship, and the Usman group was also claiming leadership—they were even jubilating,” he said.

Apapa concluded by reinforcing the importance of adhering to the party’s constitution, particularly Article 14 (a) and (b), which states that if the national chairman is unable to perform their duties, the deputy chairman assumes leadership on an acting basis. This provision, he argued, was the legal basis for his assumption of the party’s leadership.