Coalition: LP gives Obi 48 hours to resign or face expulsion
A new crisis has emerged within the Labour Party as the faction led by Julius Abure has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, demanding his resignation due to his involvement in a newly formed opposition coalition.
The ultimatum was announced on Thursday, one day after Obi appeared at the unveiling of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja alongside other opposition figures. The coalition aims to challenge the current political establishment and has adopted the ADC as its platform for the upcoming 2027 general elections.
While former ministers Rotimi Amaechi and Abubakar Malami publicly resigned from the APC before joining the ADC, Obi has not yet formally withdrawn from the Labour Party, raising tensions within the party.
In a statement from the party’s spokesman, Obiora Ifoh, the Labour Party distanced itself from the coalition, labeling it as “a club of worn-out politicians seeking political rehabilitation.”
“Peter Gregory Obi has received a 48-hour ultimatum to formally resign his membership of the Labour Party after officially joining the coalition. The Labour Party is not part of this arrangement and disassociates itself from its agenda,” the statement declared.
Ifoh further accused Obi of covertly meeting with party members to persuade them to defect, stating, “We are aware of several nocturnal meetings between Peter Obi and some of our members, lobbying them to join him in his new party. While some have resisted, we will not hesitate to demand the resignation of anyone aligning with him.”
The party also emphasized that it would not tolerate individuals with conflicting political interests. “The Labour Party is not available to people with a dual agenda. You cannot be in one party during the day and in another by night. The party must be built on loyalty and discipline, not deception and political convenience,” Ifoh asserted.
He expressed skepticism about the coalition’s legitimacy, noting, “Seventy percent of our population are young people who rejected the old order and rallied around a movement for real change. What we see in this coalition is a desperate attempt by familiar faces to return to power through the back door. It is not the future the youths voted for.”
The Labour Party reiterated its commitment to the values that propelled its success in the last election cycle and urged its members to remain focused, avoiding distractions from political maneuvering.
Source: Daily Trust
