The Labour Party (LP) has requested that all electoral petition tribunals ignore letters sent by its suspended national legal adviser, Samuel Akingbade, withdrawing all of the party’s petitions.
Obiora Ifoh, the party’s acting national publicity secretary, said on Tuesday in Abuja that the letter should be rejected, especially by the presidential election petition tribunal.
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He urged the police, the State Security Service (SSS), and anti-graft organisations to swiftly identify and detain the party’s former officials engaged in the letter so they can be questioned before they succeed in setting off a national uprising.
Mr Ifoh explained;
The party’s suspended Deputy National Chairman, Mr Lamidi Apapa has approached all election tribunals wherein Labour Party has pending matters, including that of our presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, asking for withdrawal of cases.
We are by this statement informing all arms of the Judiciary, including the tribunals and courts to ignore the ignoble antics of these compromised, suspended members of the party.
Daily, the evil intention of the breakaway faction of the Labour Party, led by the suspended deputy national chairman, Mr Apapa continues to manifest.
Just on Tuesday morning, our legal team was confronted by the stark revelation that these men have advanced their plots by approaching tribunals where our candidates lodged petitions to discontinue the cases.
He added that the plan was to frustrate Labour Party’s destined victory at the tribunals and also to derail the country’s fledgling democracy.
He listed some of the suspended party members to include Messrs Akingbade, Gbenga Daramola, Anselem Eragbe and Abayomi Arabambi.
They were the National Legal Adviser, National Financial Secretary, National Youth Leader and National Publicity Secretary, respectively.
Mr Ifoh recalled that the leadership of Labour Party had been swimming through the murky waters of conspiracy, treachery and sabotage orchestrated by the former officers.
He stated also that party had long-suspected that moles were planted to sabotage its efforts to offer Nigerians alternative governance.
He further claimed;
The desperation of the moles to satisfy their paymaster is beginning to threaten the nation’s peace and democracy.
Approaching the tribunals to withdraw all the cases lodged by Labour Party candidates is the height of subterfuge and treachery, and Nigerians will resist this ploy to plunge the nation into unnecessary turmoil.
Their actions show that they are working against the party to destroy it.
If they claim they have problem with the national leadership of the party, will they also claim that they have problem with the candidates of the party?
What offence have the candidates of the party committed that they are now moving around to withdraw their matters from the tribunals.
Crisis
Ifoh stated that he was appointed national publicity secretary of the party at a meeting in Asaba because of the vacancy created by the expulsion of the former national publicity secretary.
Crisis broke out in the party shortly after the poll leading to its factionalisation. While the faction recognised by INEC is led by Julius Abure, the other one is led by Mr Apapa, the suspended deputy national chairman.
The crisis deepened on Tuesday when the breakaway faction asked the tribunals to withdraw the petitions of the party’s candidates in the recent elections.
It is not clear if the tribunals have responded to the request.
