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Tag: LP

  • Peter Obi at 62: I can’t celebrate with over 327 killed this month

    Peter Obi at 62: I can’t celebrate with over 327 killed this month

    Mr. Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 elections, says he can’t celebrate his 62nd birthday with over 327 Nigerians killed in Plateau and Benue this month.

    Obi, however, humbly appealed to all those who desired to celebrate him with any kind of gifts, to look around them and extend such gifts to the people in need, especially in these difficult times.

    Obi, who was a former governor of Anambra, made this known in a statement in Lagos on Wednesday.

    Obi said he doesn’t have any reason to celebrate his 62nd birthday due to the present state of the country especially in Benue, Plateau.

    He said: “Today marks my 62nd birthday but there will be no celebration because in this month so far, over 327 innocent Nigerians have been killed in Plateau, Benue, and other states in a reckless manner.

    “There is far too much insecurity, violence, and bloodshed. This month alone over 200 lives have been lost to sustained violent attacks in Mangu LGA in Plateau.

    “Similarly, in Benue, over 100 lives have been lost in recent times, the latest being 27 persons killed in Adogo Ugbaam, Akpuuna, and Diom communities in Ukum LGA.

    “There are also many other cases of kidnappings and killings in different parts of the country. I want to celebrate in a New Nigeria where the lives and property of citizens are secured.

    Obi said while he remained grateful to God for His infinite mercies, he still maintained his decision of over 20 years, that he would not celebrate his birthdays in today’s Nigeria, with the current state of the nation.

    The entrepreneur said some of his friends, members of the Labour Party, and OBIdient family and supporters had asked how they could join him in celebrating that day, and even present some gifts.

    The former governor, however,  humbly appealed to all those who desired to celebrate him with any kind of gifts, to look around them and extend such gifts to the people in need, especially in these difficult times.

    He said: “I urge them to visit hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the aged and people with disabilities, and offer them such generous gifts.

    “They can also visit schools of basic studies in remote areas and support them with the basic amenities they need.

    “Those who wish to do more can  visit various IDP camps in different parts of the country.”

    Obi said he intended to do the same, adding that aside from sharing his time and resources with the less fortunate people around him, he also planned to raise money for schools and hospitals.

    The former governor said the sacrifices for a better Nigeria must now start from them, the leaders and the well-placed, adding that the state of the nation must give them cause to pause and ponder.

    He said he wanted to celebrate in a productive Nigeria that could create opportunities for the youths and he wanted to celebrate in a Nigeria that worked for all and which Nigerians could be proud of.

    According to him, this, and not my birthday, is the true celebration that will be beneficial to all Nigerians.

    He noted that as Nigerians, they must always expand their imagination of the possible, believing as we do that a better Nigeria was possible.

  • Your removal by law from office can’t cause anarchy in Nigeria, LP tells Tinubu

    Your removal by law from office can’t cause anarchy in Nigeria, LP tells Tinubu

    Labour Party on Monday replied President Bola Tinubu over his alleged statement that if he is removed from office it will lead to anarchy saying that his removal by law cannot cause any mayhem in Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports this was contained in a statement issued and signed by the party’s publicity scribe,Obiora Ifoh, stating that:

    “The Labour Party has taken note of the news making the round purportedly from the leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu where he allegedly warned the Presidential Election Petition Court (PREPEC), that interpreting the law as provided for in the constitution on the 25% of lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, could “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.”

    “We are worried that the statement which formed part of his submissions and was contained in his final written address against the Labour Party’s petition pending at the PREPEC, and meant to be in the exclusive custody of the court was leaked to the media.

    ” We still do not know the reason behind this act of desperation, even when the matter is still pending in court. We will however be careful not to term the action as “Sub-judice”.

    “Having said that, the Labour Party thinks that the statement was unnecessary since the matter is already before the court, and going ahead to pontificate on it could be construed as interference in the duties and responsibilities of the judiciary.

    “The truth of the matter is that there are no sentiments when it comes to matters of law. The law is the law and once the law has stipulated the manner and how a matter must be carried out, it must follow that pattern.

    “If the law has stated the requirement that a presidential candidate must meet before he can be declared, there is no shortcut to it. Therefore, if the constitution which is the ground norm of the law in Nigeria has stated clearly that you must score at least 25 percent in FCT before the president can be declared, anything short of that can not remedy it.

    “It is on this note that we request, that caution must be applied by the camp of the APC in its subtle but very clear pressure believed, is being mounted on the judiciary to see the developments from its lense.

    “We insist that no amount of threat from the APC on the judges in the tribunal can change the processes and requirements that the law has put in place. It must be followed and that is the position of the Labour Party.

    “We recall very clearly a mild but stern threat during the ‘Democracy Day’ Speech made by the APC-led administration where it stated emphatically that “It has become imperative to state here that the unnecessary illegal orders used to truncate or abridge democracy will no longer be tolerated.”

    “We noted then that the warning appeared threatening enough as it sounded more totalitarian but today we are confronted with a sterner approach to whipping the judiciary into a pathway, a development if allowed unchallenged will spell doom for the nation.

    “We see in that statement a call on the armies of the APC to awaken to their sworn vow to return to the trenches just the way they unleashed terror on our supporters during the February election. The same thugs that perpetrated “absurdity, chaos, and anarchy” and who were used to alter the will of Nigerians are still very present and willing to do the will of their paymasters. Let me assure the APC and their leaders that if there were no “absurdity, chaos, and anarchy” when they forced their way into power, Nigeria will still witness peace when they are eventually evicted from power.

    SIGN

    Obiora Ifoh
    National Publicity Secretary
    LABOUR PARTY

    17-07-2023

  • I never said I’d contest again in 2027 – Peter Obi

    I never said I’d contest again in 2027 – Peter Obi

    The Presidential Candidate, Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has dismissed media reports that he is looking forward to run for office in the  2027 presidential elections.

    The presidential candidate also denied commenting on appointees of the Federal Government.

    Obi, who is also a former governor of Anambra, made this known in a statement on his official Twitter handle in Lagos on Saturday.

    The presidential candidate described both reports as bogus, regretting that Nigerian politics had sunken to the level where manipulation of the media space was now a trade.

    He said: “I have noticed with dismay, an emerging pattern, where fake media reports and news items are predicated on interviews and press remarks I never granted.

    “Two recent instances relating to my saying that I am looking forward to running for office in 2027 on a supposed Arise TV interview.

    “This never took place and the other, about my reaction to prospective appointees into the current Federal Government,” he said.

    The presidential candidate said he would not allow fake news to distract his focus for a new Nigeria which he insisted,  was possible.

    Obi said his focus and that of the ‘Obidient’ Movement that he leads, would not derail from the original mission of creating a new Nigeria which they believed was possible.

    He said for him, he would continue to speak on topical national issues via recognised news and media outfits but certainly would not concern himself with cheap distraction.

    Obi also said the focus of his followers had never been on political appointments and positions.

    “Our emphasis has never been on political positions or personal aggrandisement but on putting the nation on the right footing and deepening our democracy by helping to elevate and empower the downtrodden in our society.”

    Obi so aid that was the reason their messages during the electioneering campaigns were all issue-driven.

  • INEC closes defence in Obi/LP petition, tenders documents

    INEC closes defence in Obi/LP petition, tenders documents

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has opened and closed its defence in the petition by Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

    INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, announced the closure of the first respondent’s case after the conclusion of the testimony of its sole witness, Dr Lawrence Bayode, a Deputy Director in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department of INEC.

    Before calling on it’s witness, INEC tendered some documents which were admitted and marked as exhibits.

    Led in chief by Mahmood, the witness told the court that he worked for INEC for 24 years.

    Under cross-examination by Patrick Ikwueto, SAN counsel for the petitioners the witness told the court that the testing of the software application for the election was carried out on Feb 4.

    He added that there was a report on the testing but it was not with him in the court.

    The petitioners however, tendered the E- transmission saver Web and compliance form through the witness and was admitted and marked as evidence .

    The witness told the court that the pre-production test was carried out before the election.

    When asked if the hard copy of the results would be different from the ones in the IreV, he said no.

    He however, added that anything could happen when sending the results from form EC8A to the IreV.

    He admitted that performance, functionality and vulnerability tests were carried out before the election.

    The witness agreed with Ikwueto that the report of the e-Transmission application identifies remediation to be undertaken to resolve the high vulnerability identified in the report.

    The witness said he does not know INEC ‘s web address were it’s materials are published.

    In his cross examination, Wole Olanipekun , SAN counsel for Tinubu and Shettima asked if foundation and authenticity of any election by INEC is rooted in forms EC8A and EC8E, the witness said yes.

    The witness added that blurred documents downloaded from INEC IreV would not affect the physical results in form EC8A because the image there is not relevant.

    He said the election is ended with the recording , snapping and sending to INEC ‘s IreV.

    Answering questions from APC counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the witness said the physical results are use for computing the election final results.

    He said the glitches that occurred on the day of the election did not affect the collation of the results.

    He added that if what was downloaded from the IreV are not clear the physical results could also be obtained.

    He told the court further that ECOWAS monitored the election but he does not have their report.

    The witness stated that the cloud trial log account of INEC can be obtained from Amazon Web services (AWS).

    He added that this shows the patches that were deployed on E- transmission applications on AWS to fix the glitches that was encountered on election day.

    After the testimony of the sole witness, Mahmoud told the court that f INEC’s defense in the Obi and Labour Party petition is closed.

    Olanipekun later told the court that Tinubu and Shetimma, who are listed as second and third respondents in the petition will tomorrow open their defence.

    The five-member panel presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned until tomorrow for the Tinubu and Shettima to open their defence.

    Obi and his Labour Party (LP) are petitioners in the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023 challenging the election which brought president Bola Tinubu into power

    Respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) president Bola Tinubu and Vice president Kashim Shettima and All Progressives Congress (APC).

  • LP kicks against delay in conduct of LGA election in Bayelsa

    LP kicks against delay in conduct of LGA election in Bayelsa

    Labour Party has vowed to stage a  peaceful protest over Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa’s alleged outright refusal to conduct local government elections.

    The  Factional  National Chairman of the party Lamidi Apapa, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

    Apapa  urged the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) to do the needful

    “If BYSIEC fails to issue a notice to commence the process of local government elections before month end, the party would resort to civil actions aimed at pressuring the governor to do the needful.

    “The civil action would be peaceful, but resolute, in our pursuit of electoral justice and democratic representation for the people of Bayelsa State,” he said.

    Apapa said that the governor would not deny the importance and significance of the grassroots to the development of a state, as local government areas were created to help establish, nurture sustain democracy and democratic political culture.

    He said that as such, LGAs needed to be given  powers to function effectively, to stabilise and strengthen the political system.

    He further said that the importance of local government in ensuring democratic representation for the people at the grassroots level could not be over-emphasized.

    “The people of Bayelsa State, particularly those at the grassroots deserve elected officials who can effectively advocate their needs and drive development initiatives.

    “We are concerned that funds intended for local governments in Bayelsa State are being withheld by the state government, instead of being allocated to democratically elected local government officials

    “We view the development as a deliberate neglect of the local area, contradicting the governor’s claims of pursuing a prosperous administration,” he said.

    According to Apapa, Labour Party strongly condemned the utilisation of civil servants to administer local government affairs describing it as an unconventional and backward approach.

    He said that the delay in conducting the  local council election may be driven by the governor’s political agenda, contrary to his earlier statements of prioritising the people’s development over political maneuvers.

    He said that the attention of the party had also been drawn to the slow progress of the ongoing case in Sagbama High Court, Yenagoa, aimed at compelling the governor to conduct elections.

    Apapa also expressed concerns about alleged potential interference with the judicial process.

    He, therefore, urged the governor to respect the independence of the judiciary, which played a crucial role in his assumption of office.

  • LP palaver: We expect more arrests, Lamidi Apapa group boasts

    LP palaver: We expect more arrests, Lamidi Apapa group boasts

    …hails DSS over Abure’s arrest

    …says it’s confident in Obi’s effort to recover mandate

    The Lamidi Bashiru Apapa-led faction of the Labour party has boasted that more arrests will be made as Labour Party’s crisis lingers on

    The faction also commended the DSS over the reported arrest of the embattled National Chairman of the party -Barrister Julius Abure on Friday.

    Rising from a crucial 3-hour State Working Committee meeting in Awka Friday afternoon, the state chairman, Hon Peter Okoye told journalists that Abure’s arrest was only the beginning of a floodgate of arrest of more bigwigs in the party.

    He accused them of “turning the party into their private financial estate and cashcow, until the arrival of Alh Apapa to salvage what was once a fledgling political party of the masses…”

    Making copies of the May 3,2023 resolutions of the party available, as well as the order of Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama Abuja that suspended Abure and three others from parading themselves as officers of the party, Okoye stated that contrary to a general insinuation that Alh Apapa came as a snitch planted to destabilize the aspiration of H/E Peter Obi.

    “No, far from that. We are not against Obi in any way. We are solidly behind him in his quest to reclaim his mandate.

    “It’s reason we met today to appraise progress and development within the party.

    “The state executive committee met alongside the chairmen of the 21 Councils of Anambra State, and we used the opportunity to situation of things to them, including the litigations(court cases) within the party. We presented to them the court order suspending Abure, as well as the pending appeal by him. That is his preliminary objection that the FCT High Court lacked jurisdiction in the matter in the first instance”.

    “We also explained the rationale behind suspension of the 36 State chairmen and Secretaries. Because they went to hold meeting with Abure, inviting Senators/House of Representatives members-elect, Obi and his running mate.

    “This was considered a grave offence, an affront, hence the state officers were suspended”, Okoye disclosed.

    Okoye confirmed a trending grapevine report that Alh Apapa intends to visit the Anambra state soon, admitting he has concluded plans for the visit to the State chapter of the party once Abure’s appeal was successfully dispensed with.

    Reading out their resolutions, the Idemili North Chairman/chairman of all Chairmen, Comrade Obiora Ochudo, emphasizing their unflinching support and backing of the Lamidi Apapa-led National exco.

    ” We also agreed to leave no stone unturned to ensure LP take over Anambra State in next election.

    “We are fully behind Peter Obi in his efforts to reclaim his mandate at the Presidential Election Tribunal.

    ” We are also solidly behind our state chairman, Hon Peter Okoye in his quest to make Anambra purely LP enclave in next election.

    “The party equally resolved to strengthen the party structures at the State, Councils and Ward levels…”, Comrade Ochudo added.

    Appraising the membership drive so far, the State Vice Chairman (Central), Pastor Conatus Odaba expressed satisfaction with efforts of members so far.

    He pointed out that during the February 25,2023 general election the party was accused of lacking grassroots structures. So we are determined to entrenching LP in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria, particularly Anambra State.

    He admitted that it’s open secret that virtually all citizens were already tired of the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), and All Progressives Congress(APC).

    ” So, the next viable option accepted by the people is LP…”, Odaba noted.

  • LP suspends Legal Adviser, 12 others for backing Apapa faction

    LP suspends Legal Adviser, 12 others for backing Apapa faction

    The Labour Party has suspended its National Legal adviser Barr. Samuel Akingbade along with twelve other officials over attempt to factionalise the party in support of Lamidi Apapa-led faction.

    Other suspended party officials include the Osun State Women leader Mrs. Susan Ojo and 11 Local Government Chairmen across the state, who were said to be involved in gross misconduct with a vow to create animosity within the party in the state.

    Addressing newsmen on behalf of the party leadership on Thursday at the party secretariat in Osogbo, Osun state Chairman, Bello Adebayo said the suspended officials were trying to factionalise the party in the state.

    “All identified card-carrying members of the Labour Party who were part of a NEC meeting that took place in Bauchi, Bauchi State on Wednesday, 3rd May, 2022 are hereby suspended indefinitely.

    “Among those identified and affected by this decision are; Barr. Samuel Akingbade (National Legal Adviser), Mrs. Susan Ojo (State Women Leader) and 11 chairmen of Local Government of our party in Osun State who participated in a meeting organized by the National Legal Adviser and suspended State Woman Leader.

    “These members stand suspended for anti-party activities and gross misconduct. This decision will be forwarded to the National Working Committee of the Labour Party and other relevant bodies including all security agencies for further actions.

    “Without prejudice, we are all aware that our party is currently facing some challenges at the national level, and this is snowballing into crisis in some states. However, we have been so lucky in Osun State, the State Executive of the party has remained united in spite of the shenanigans of some people.

    “We cannot shy away from the fact that some members of the party have been attempting to take advantage of the crisis at the national level to cause confusion and division in Osun State Chapter of the Labour Party. We equally acknowledge the presence of members with inordinate ambition, which is gradually leading to the factionalization of the party.

    “The intention is to create parallel structures at the National level and the states to lend support to the dirty agenda of scuttling the legal struggle of reclaiming the mandate of Mr. Peter Obi and Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed in the 2023 Presidential election.

    Source: Vanguard

  • Peter Obi tenders blurred IReV evidence before PEPC

    Peter Obi tenders blurred IReV evidence before PEPC

    Mr Peter Obi and his Labour party (LP) On Wednesday tendered additional blurred INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) documents before the Presidential Election Petition Court  (PEPC).

    Obi and his Labour Party (LP) are petitioners in the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023 challenging the election which brought president Bola Tinubu into power

    Respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) president Bola Tinubu and Vice president Kashim Shettima and All Progressives Congress (APC).

    At the resumed hearing of the PEPC , the petitioners tendered, IREV reports downloaded and certified by INEC in 21 LGAs in Benue, 25?LGAs in Niger and 17 LGAs in Edo.

    Obi also tendered the IREV reports from 20 LGA of Bauchi and a bundle of blurred report, eight LGA of Bayelsa IreV reports were tendered also.

    IreV reports from Bayelsa marked blurred , no results or cancelled were tendered, Gombe eight LGA and a bundle of blurred report not linked to any LGA was tendered.

    IreV report for Kaduna, 21 LGA and two bundles of blurred reports not linked to any government area were tendered also.

    Tendered further are IreV certificates of compliance of six states excluding Akwa Ibom, and 28 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

    All the documents tendered were objected by all the respondents but admitted and marked as exhibits by the court

    The respondents however, reserved the responses to their objections to their final written addresses.

    At the end of tendering, Levi Uzoukwu, SAN counsel for the petitioners drew the court attention to unfruitful attempts to serve INEC chairman with a subpoena.

    The subpoena according to Uzoukwu was for him to produce certain documents.

    He added that he spoke to the lead counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud who promised to help out.

    He therefore, asked for an adjournment until tomorrow.

    Responding, Kemi Pinhero, SAN who represented INEC told the court that the petitioners ‘counsel should stop using INEC as ‘ a weeping boy.’

    ‘It is not correct that the office of the INEC chairman refused to be served, but PDP served several documents and received replies”

    He added that it have become the habit of the petitioners each time they want an adjournment to find a blame on INEC.

    Other respondents’ counsel however, did not object to the prayer for adjournment.

    Meanwhile, the five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned until tomorrow for further hearing of the petition.

  • Ogah has regretted his actions, says LP after lawmaker praises Tinubu

    Ogah has regretted his actions, says LP after lawmaker praises Tinubu

    The Labour Party, LP, has reacted to the comment of one of its House of Representatives members-elect, Hon Amobi Ogah, for praising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s level of intelligence.

    Ogah, while speaking with journalists after a meeting with Tinubu on the 10th National Assembly leadership in Abuja on Thursday, said “Today is my best day. Today, I’m so happy that I’m an elected member seeing my president talking. In fact, I never knew this man is so intelligent.

    “I never knew that this man is so prepared to serve this country. I saw the love, character, and charisma. The belief that Nigeria can be a better nation. So I’m so glad that the meeting we had today is going to take us a little bit to a more stabilised house.

    “Now, even without talking to us again, we have agreed that we are going towards the government’s decision.”

    Reacting to Ogah’s interview on Friday, in a statement issued by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, LP stated that Ogah’s position on President Tinubu’s leadership is his personal opinion and not that of the party.

    “Though as a first time and newly elected lawmaker, the member-elect made the utterance which is clearly within his rights as an individual as enshrined in the laws of the land; however, the party has a view quite different from what the honourable member was quoted to have said.

    “As an individual, he does not have the mandate to speak for the party and therefore cannot claim to be standing on the platform of the LP to do the same, giving views that are diametrically opposed to what our party stands for.

    “Labour Party is presently in the tribunal hoping to retrieve our mandate which was expressively given to our presidential candidate on February 25, and every testament emanating from the tribunal points to the fact that the Labour Party clearly won the election but was robbed. We have remained resolute to our belief that justice will be done so soon.

    “We as a party insist that the route to His Excellency must be excellent and anything other than that amounts to a mockery of democracy.

    “We urge millions of our party members who are offended by Hon Ogah’s interview, which has since gone viral, to maintain their cool as the lawmaker has regretted his actions and has tendered unreserved apologies to the party.”

  • I never knew Tinubu was intelligent – LP lawmaker

    I never knew Tinubu was intelligent – LP lawmaker

    A House of Representatives member-elect on the platform of the Labour Party, (LP) Godwin Amobi Ogar has expressed his surprise at the intelligence of President Bola Tinubu, after his encounter with the Nigeria president.

    Amobi who represent Isiuakwato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State at the House of Representatives said he did not know Tinubu was intelligent.

    He made this statement after a meeting with Tinubu yesterday at the Presidential villa.

    Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Amobi said, “Well, I can tell you that today is my best day, today I’m so happy that I’m an elected member seeing my President talking. In fact, I never knew that this man is so intelligent. I never knew that this man is so prepared to serve this country.

    “I saw the love, I saw the character, I saw the charisma, the belief that Nigeria can be a better nation. So I’m so glad that the meeting we have today is going to take us a little bit to a more stabilised house. Now, even without talking to us again, we’ve agreed that we are going towards the government’s decision. Not minding, I’m of Labour Party.

    “As at now, the party is not the issue; we’re talking about building the Nation, we’re talking about the unity of the nation,” he said.