LABOUR PARTY CHAIRMAN AUBRE URGES GOV. OTTI TO LEAVE THE PARTY AND JOIN THE OPPOSITION COALITION

The factional National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has called on Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, to stop claiming membership in the LP and openly align with the political coalition he is allegedly supporting. In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, Abure accused Otti of deceptive double standards, alleging that the governor is backing a coalition of opposition parties while falsely maintaining allegiance to the LP.

Abure criticized Otti’s claim of LP membership, pointing to the governor’s use of the Zenith Labour Party as a platform for the recent Abia State local government election and his alleged funding of an “illegal and unconstitutional” caretaker committee. He claimed that key figures in Otti’s camp, including Senator Nenadi Usman, the caretaker committee chairman, and LP’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as part of the coalition.

“We are shocked that Otti is trying to mislead Labour Party members by claiming continued membership,” Abure said, noting that Otti was indefinitely suspended from the LP for anti-party activities. He urged the governor to formally exit the party and “move on,” stating, “You cannot be in the Labour Party and work against it at the same time.”

Abure dismissed the opposition coalition as an “ideologically bankrupt” alliance driven by a selfish pursuit of power rather than principle, emphasizing that the LP would not join such a group. He highlighted the party’s ongoing efforts to reposition itself ahead of the 2027 elections, describing the LP as Nigeria’s “best political brand” and expressing its commitment to engaging young Nigerians with a genuine interest in the nation’s progress.

The Labour Party, under Abure’s leadership, remains focused on ridding itself of members whose loyalties lie elsewhere, he added. Governor Otti has yet to respond to the allegations.