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Tag: LP

  • Ebonyi lawmaker defects from LP to APC

    Ebonyi lawmaker defects from LP to APC

    A lawmaker at the Ebonyi House of Assembly, Chief Celestine Ogba (LP-Onicha East) has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Ogba announced his defection at a ceremony in the state APC secretariat on Saturday in Abakalikii in the presence of party leaders.

    He said he was happy to go back to his roots having been a member of the party in the past.

    The lawmaker said that the APC was the largest political party in the country and Africa with great and influential personalities as members.

    “I am happy to join them in building blocks which would translate to mansions of delivering democratic dividends to the people.

    “What people say does not matter but ideologies which transform the lives of the people.

    “The state governor has shown that his administration is people oriented which is embedded in the people’s charter of needs mantra,” he said.

    He said that his defection was in the overall interest of his constituency.

    “I should not be a clog in the wheels of progress as I want my people, party and state to progress.

    “I come from a politically volatile local government area which should make us eschew violence but lay claim to what is rightly due to us.

    “I defected with all labour party stakeholders in the constituency as council has become one with the merger of political forces from the east and west constituencies,” he said.

    The state APC Chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha commended Ogba for defecting to the party and described him a a big fish caught by the party.

    “When you go to the river for fishing, you will be happy to catch a big fish and that is what we have done.

    “We are looking for the best brains to project the state to the apex of national discourse and enhance our people’s well-being.

    “I have known Ogba for long and wished hin success in the spirit despite contesting in the opposition,” he said.

    He said that the party was fortifying its fold and the people would realise the magnitude of work done, during future elections in the state.

    “It will be desirable to see our candidates returned unopposed during elections and realising such starts presently,” he said.

    The ranks of the opposition had been depleting steadily in Ebonyi with mass defection to the APC.

  • Why INEC server failed to work on election day – Peter Obi

    Why INEC server failed to work on election day – Peter Obi

    Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) Mr Peter Obi has said that the ‘establishment of criminality’ caused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, servers not work during the last presidential election.

    Obi noted that the people must one day make it to work, explaining that Amazon testified there were no glitches recorded globally on the day of the presidential election.

    The former Anambra State governor made the statement on Friday in Canada while addressing the issues about the last general election, including IREV servers.

    It was observed that the LP presidential candidate was in Canada for a “thank you” tour to appreciate Nigerians living in the country for their support offered him during the 2023 campaign/ general elections.

    He said: “Where did we go wrong in the last election? We didn’t go wrong anywhere. We did the right things. But as I can always tell people: when you bring a change, you fight all those who live off the old order. They don’t go away; they gang up. And don’t think it’s a straight race to remove an establishment. It’s a long-distance journey anywhere in the world. Go and check anywhere, whether you are looking at what happened in India, with Mandela in South Africa, or America. No change has happened overnight, it takes time. I urge all of you, if you really want change, we have just begun. We just have to continue from where we are.

    “Yes, there might be one or two things we will correct, those things we will correct. I assure you we are correcting them without naming them.

    It’s not going to be easy.

    “The INEC server was the same as the establishment. The server would not work because it was the establishment that made it so it wouldn’t work. It’s ours to continue to say that it would work. But there was no glitch. Amazon came and said there was no glitch. Amazon glitch is noticed globally – it’s recorded globally. And at that period, we brought down an Amazon person who said this is the number of glitches we have had since inception. And there was none that it reported that day. We know it didn’t occur. It was the glitch of the establishment criminality that was in the system. And we must one day make it work.”

  • Edo 2024: Apapa LP faction’s flagbearer loses out as INEC displays Olumide Apata’s name

    Edo 2024: Apapa LP faction’s flagbearer loses out as INEC displays Olumide Apata’s name

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) on Saturday March 30, 2024 displayed the list of political parties candidate for the upcoming election in Edo state.

    INEC displayed the list of candidates of 17 political parties vying for the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.

    The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr Anugbum Onuoha, displayed the list at the INEC office in Benin City.

    However, the displayed list showed that the Commission dumped Barrister Anderson Uwadiae Asemota, the candidate of the Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party, (LP) for Barrister Olumide Akpata of the Julius Abure-led camp of the party.

    It would be recalled  that the Apapa faction of the LP had in a letter dated February 22, 2024 and addressed to the National Chairman of INEC, submitted Anderson Uwadiae Asemota and Barrister Monday Ojore Mawah, as the candidate and running mate of the party, respectively.

    The candidates listed by the Commission are Mr Uwaifo Osaro, Action Alliance (AA), Aner Abdullai Aliu, Social Democratic Party (SDP), Azena Azemhe Friday, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Osifo Isaiah, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Ugiagbe Odaro Syvelster, All People Movement (APM) and Areleogbe Amos Osalumese, All Peoples Party (APP).

    Others are Akhime kingson Afere, Action Democratic Party (ADP), Udoh Obersifo David, African Action Congress (AAC), Akhalamhe Amiemenoghena, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Ighodalo Asuerinme, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osirame Edeipo, Boot party (BP), Enabulele Bright, Accord party (AP), Obazele Paul Agbone, African Democratic Congress (ADC), Olumide Akpata, Labour Party (LP), Okpebholo Monday, All Progressives Congress (APC), Key Patience Ndidi, People Redemption Party (PRP), and Okungbowa Paul Ovbokhan, Young Progressive Party (YPP).

  • Labour Party petitions SGF over office vandalism

    Labour Party petitions SGF over office vandalism

    The Labour Party (LP) has petitioned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) over Wednesday’s vandalism of its offices  by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    Mr Obiora Ifoh, the LP National Publicity Secretary (LP) said this in the petition, a copy of which was made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

    “It has become unavoidably necessary to request for your urgent intervention, being the Regulatory Agency for trade unions including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has over the years engaged in a war of attrition with our party.

    “It came to a head and unbearable when the NLC under the leadership of Comrade Joe Ajeoro directed the picketing of our party’s National Headquarters and our chapter offices across the country.

    “The unwarranted attack in our office resulted in the destruction of several properties,” Ifoh said.

    He added:“The NLC claims to be owners of the party and therefore wants to impose the leadership of the party, exerts overwhelming control to achieve a political end.

    “It should be noted that Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) prohibits any association from contributing to the funds of any political party.

    “It is a criminal offence under section 15 of the Trade Union Act to use Trade Unions Funds whether directly or indirectly to fund a political party.

    “Similarly, the NLC has no right to picket an organization where there is no trade dispute, The LP has no staff who are members of the NLC. The actions of the NLC is a clear violation of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act, the Trade Union Act and other relevant laws.”

    “It is of importance to further draw your attention to the fact that it is only members who are financially up to date with the party, who have rights and obligations to in the party (See Article 9(3)(i) and (iii) of our constitution).

    “NLC members are not card-carrying members of LP. The party cannot be owned by any association, membership of the party is on individual basis.

    “The LP Constitution says the party is open to all Nigerians who accept its ideology, programs and the constitution, irrespective of their religion, ethnic, gender, social and economic status.

    “However, the organs of the party as decided by the members assume leadership of the party. How this is achieved is well spelt out in the constitution.

    “As lawful citizens we didn’t want to confront them in an uncivilized manner in order to avoid breakdown of law and order. We had the option of also mobilizing party faithfuls to confront them.

    “Doing that at this point where the harsh economic climate is having its toll on the Nigerian people will result to anarchy.

    “Hence, the urgent need to call the NLC and its leadership led by Ajaero to order, educate them on the limit of their power, condemn their rascality, abuse of office and discipline them as appropriate”.

  • Peter Obi not the kind of politician Nigeria needs – Lagos LP guber candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

    Peter Obi not the kind of politician Nigeria needs – Lagos LP guber candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

    Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in Lagos state for the 2023 general election,  has said that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is not the politician Nigeria needs.

    Rhodes-Vivour, made his position known while speaking on the Honest Bunch Podcast, saying Obi is not the politician “we need for us”.

    He said “Peter Obi is the leader that we need for Nigeria, but not the politician we need for us,” he said.

    Rhodes-Vivour also insisted “Peter (Obi) does not buy votes. He won Lagos without buying votes.”

    Obi finished in third position during last year’s polls, behind President Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that  Rhodes-Vivour lost the gubernatorial election to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    Rhodes-Vivour challenged the election result all the way to the Supreme Court, where a five-member panel in a unanimous judgment delivered in January 2024, affirmed the declaration of Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election, after dismissing two separate appeals challenging his victory.

  • BREAKING: Appeal Court reinstates Julius Abure as LP chairman

    BREAKING: Appeal Court reinstates Julius Abure as LP chairman

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, has confirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of Labour Party, LP.

    Ruling on an ex parte application on April 5, 2023, Hamza Muazu, the Presiding Judge, had restrained Abure, Farouk Ibrahim, Clement Ojukwu, and Oluchi Opara from acting as national officers of the LP.

    The court also dismissed the objection raised by Abure challenging his removal as chairman of the LP.

    The suit which was filed by Martins Esikpali John, Lucky Shaibu, Isah Zekeri, Omogbai Frank, Abokhaiu Aliu, Ayohkaire Lateef, John Elomah, and Ayobami Arabambi accused Abure and others of forging several documents of the FCT high court to carry out unlawful substitutions in the last elections.

    The defendants, however, approached the appeal court for redress.

    Delivering the lead judgement on Wednesday, Justice Hamman Barka held that the high court was wrong to have assumed jurisdiction on the matter.

    He also awarded N1m in favour of the appellants.

    Details to follow…

  • Peter Obi faults manner of Abure’s arrest

    Peter Obi faults manner of Abure’s arrest

    The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 General Elections, Mr Peter Obi, has expressed dissatisfaction at the manner which the Nigeria Police operatives handled the arrest of the party’s National Chairman, Mr Julius Abure, on Wednesday.

    Obi in a statement on his X handle platform said that there could have been a better way to handle the arrest of the party chieftain to “show we are … in a democracy”.

    He said: “Like many Nigerians, I observed the distasteful national television news reports detailing the humiliating arrest of the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, in Benin City, Edo.

    “Throughout my roles as a private individual, public figure, Governor, and Presidential candidate, I consistently advocated for the paramount importance of upholding the rule of law in any sane society.

    “I firmly believe that, as citizens, we are all duty-bound irrespective of our status in society to respond to invitations from properly constituted authority.

    “My stance on this matter remains unwavering but does not explain watching the distressing image of our National Chairman lying on the ground in the name of arrest.

    “This act is undesirable and unequivocally intolerable and must be condemned by any decent and civilized mind within the context of our present civic landscape in Nigeria.”

    He described the manner of the arrest as deplorable, saying such manner of arrest must be not only denounced but also actively addressed to uphold the principles of justice and respect within our society.

    “Regarding the circumstances surrounding Mr Abure’s arrest, it is crucial to emphasise that while constitutional authorities must be allowed to execute their statutory functions, officers must adhere to due process and established arrest procedures.

    “The officers must embody civility, decorum, respect for the dignity and rights of citizens, and, above all, the presumption of innocence.

    “It is crucial to emphasise that as a leader within the Labour Party, Mr Abure represents, both personally and statutorily, as the incumbent Chairman of the LP, the face of political opposition in Nigeria,” Obi said.

    Abure and some LP party members who were arrested by the police on Wednesday in Benin City, the Edo capital,have however been released.

    Also, after the arrest, Tijani Momoh, Spokesperson for Zone 5 Police Headquarters, Benin City, said Abure was arrested over a petition in a case of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit dangerous harm.

    Momoh had on Wednesday, while briefing newsmen, said that the police did not assault the LP national chairman in the process of arresting him.

    The police spokesperson said some persons tried to prevent Abure’s arrest, which led to an altercation between them and police operatives.

  • BREAKING: Police arrest Labour Party Chairman, Abure in Edo

    BREAKING: Police arrest Labour Party Chairman, Abure in Edo

    Hours to the Labour Party governorship primaries in Edo, the Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, has been arrested by the police in Benin, Edo State capital.

    Abure’s arrest comes two days after Labour Party state chairmen passed a vote of confidence in him amid allegation of financial impropriety levelled against him by the party’s suspended treasurer, Mrs Oluchi Oprah.

    Mrs. Oprah had accused Abure of misappropriating over N3 billion out of the N3.5 billion raised for the 2023 election campaigns.

    “Apart from the proceeds of the sale of forms from his home state of Edo – which was diverted to Mr Abure’s private accounts, he only declared N55 million to me as Treasurer, of the over N3.5 billion raised, pocketing the rest for himself,” Oluchi had claimed.

    In what looks like a chaotic scene, police officers stormed Abure’s residence and forcefully arrested him amid protest by supporters.

    According to some party loyalists, the order to arrest Abure came from Abuja and was effected by police and Department of State Services (DSS).

    The reason for Abure’s arrest, according to party officials, was to destabilise the Labour Party ahead of the September 21, 2024 Edo governorship election.

    There are also reports that the arrest followed a petition by the LP Youth Leader, Comrade Eragbe Anselm Aphimia.

    The petition, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, dated February 13, partly reads, “I, Comrade Eragbe Anselm, write to you with utmost urgency and grave concern regarding a heinous act of violence perpetrated against me on the 29th of December 2023.

    “I am a member and National Youth Leader of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria, and the events I am about to recount are of utmost importance for justice and the safety of individuals involved in political activities.

    “On December 28, 2023, I flew into Benin City Airport around 2 p.m. as part of an official 5-member delegation authorised by the Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Alhaji Lamidi Basiru Apapa.

    “Our mission was to organise Ward, LGA, and State Congresses in Edo State, as well as supervise the sale of nomination forms for various posts, as mandated by INEC guidelines, within the stipulated time frames.

    “On arrival at the Benin Airport, I was received by one Mrs Mary Okheime Newberry, who falsely claimed to be providing transportation and accommodation on behalf of unnamed “stakeholders.”

    “She proceeded to lodge us at the Smart Homes Hotel, unknown to us that she was plotting a sinister and gruesome ambush. The next morning, a man named Austin Emeka came to pick me and my colleague, Mr Patrick Anethua, up from the hotel lobby, pretending to take us to a meeting venue.

    “Instead, we were violently attacked just outside the hotel gates by a waiting mob.”

     

  • What I will do If I lose Edo gov bid – LP aspirant, Akpata

    What I will do If I lose Edo gov bid – LP aspirant, Akpata

    A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party, (LP), in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, has said he will remain in the party if he loses.

    He revealed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

    The former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, said he believed in the process that will produce the candidate of the party having watched keenly the process in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.

    “There are definitely glitches and I hope that those who superintended over the affairs will go back to the drawing board and ensure that we don’t have a repeat of what we had in those states,” he said.

    While noting that these developments called for concern, he said if he was “played out” during the primaries, “I am a democrat and a good sportsman. If I lose, I will go home.

    “Political harlotry is not one of my strong points. I came to this party because I believe in what the party stands for. If some of the operators of the party are behaving in an underhanded manner, that does not mean the party has changed.

    “What you do is to ensure that you enthrone leadership that works in tandem with the objectives of the party. The solution is not to jump ship. You are not going to hear of me jumping ship to another party,” he said.

    Akpata said that the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi would endorse whoever emerged as the candidate of the party in the state.

    “Put yourself in the shoes of Mr Peter Obi, 28 aspirants on the field; do you really think he will endorse one above others?

    “Mr Peter Obi is a friend of mine, he knows about my ambition, we have talked about it but I expect no less from him. He’s a democrat, he’s fair, he’s just, he’s equitable. So, what he would do is wait for the process to play out,” he added.

  • LP, PDP fight for 4,618 votes in Enugu South rerun

    LP, PDP fight for 4,618 votes in Enugu South rerun

    Mr Emeka Ngene (LP) and his PDP counterpart, Mr Sam Ngene, look set to slug it out for 4,618 votes in Saturday’s rerun election in Enugu South Urban State Constituency.

    The Court of Appeal had declared the rerun in the political ward in Enugu constituency due to irregularities.

    Mr Emeka Ngene, who was declared winner by INEC in the March 18, 2023 election with 5,862 votes, is the current member in the State House of Assembly even as the court ordered for the rerun.

    Mr Sam Ngene, popularly known as Anointed David, was former Chairman, Enugu State Assembly Committee on Health, before INEC issued Certificate of Return to Emeka Ngene after the March 18, 2023, election.

    Both candidates, who bear the same surname but not related, are currently doing extensive door-to-door campaigns to woo voters within the Uwani area of Enugu, where the ward in contention exists.

    Commenting on the rerun on Thursday in Enugu, INEC’s Head of Voters Education and Publicity Department, Mr Rex Achumie, said it would be held between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

    Achumie said 4,618 eligible voters in one Registration Area (political ward) and eight polling units would be involved in the poll.

    He said just like the main elections, all technological devices of INEC would be deployed, including Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

    “All rules and regulations for a normal election will apply and be observed during the rerun, and any eligible voter that makes himself/herself available before 2:30 p.m. must vote and his/her vote will count.

    “The Enugu State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, has made adequate arrangements to ensure hitch-free elections by ensuring water-tight arrangements and meeting various election stakeholders.

    “INEC is ready to conduct free, fair and credible rerun elections and we have started preparation on time from when the Appeal Court pronounced for the rerun,” he said.

    In an interaction, Mr Sam Ngene said: “I have fully mobilized for a door-to-door and one-on-one campaign with my people, which I have been running for weeks now.”

    Mr Emeka Ngene was not readily available to comment on his build-up to the D-day after several attempts.