Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has refuted speculations suggesting that he is parting ways with the party.
This was contained in a statement signed by Michael Jude Nwolisa, Obi’s Media Aide.
The statement vehemently dismissed the rumours and said it’s the handiwork of mischief makers.
The statement emphasized that the information did not originate from Peter Obi or the Obidient Movement.
The POMR expressed its commitment to dismissing such false and fallacious news stories, noting that they are aimed at sowing discord within the party.
Part of the statement read: “This is not true and it did not originate from Obi or the Obidient Movement but from mischief makers bent on sowing the seed of discord in the party.
“These rising misdemeanors on the party did not start today as they set out to destroy and disorganize the party all to get at Obi and derail the inevitable journey of rescuing Nigeria.
“Presently our principal is preoccupied with making Nigeria work not on partisan politics which ended on October 26, 2023, when the Supreme Court of the land took their final decision on the general elections.’’
Also, Yunusa Tanko, spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign council, says Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 polls, is not thinking of dumping the party.
Tanko, who spoke during a chat with TheCable on Friday, said Obi remains a solid member of the LP and has not discussed forming a new political party with anyone.
The LP has been enmeshed in controversy before, during and after the general election, with many supporters of Obi, known as ‘Obidients’, calling on him to leave and form a new party.
They have vowed to follow him to wherever he decides to pitch tent.
Julius Abure, the national chair of the LP, was on Wednesday arrested by the police in Edo state for “attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and other offences”.
In his reaction to the arrest, Obi warned that no pretext should be deployed to stifle opposition in the country, and demanded that Abure be granted bail given his status, while investigation of the alleged offences continue apace.
Asked if Obi is leaving the party, Tanko said Obi remains a strong member of the LP and has been defending the party as best he could.
“Not at all. At the moment, he is not contemplating leaving the Labour Party,” he said.
“His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, is trying to build a platform that accommodates everybody. There is no doubt he has added credibility and purposefulness to the Labour Party.
“Right now, he has not said anything about leaving the party anytime soon. Even if there is such a motive, we would have been intimated.
“He has been defending the LP as strongly as he can. As far as we are concerned, if there are issues within the party, all we need to do is a clean-up and make corrections as soon as possible.”
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