2019: No automatic ticket for defectors —LP

National chairman of Labour Party, (LP) Dr. Mike Omotosho, has declared that the party ticket would no longer be available for politicians desperate for tickets for elective offices. He made the vow at the weekend at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja.

He expressed concern that such desperate politicians often abandon the party once they lose elections, with no conscious efforts to build the platform that gave them tickets. He further declared that hismission was to rebrand the Labour Party ahead of 2019 general elections.

He said:’’ We want people that want to stay with us, build the structures with us and hopefully win and when they win, the chances of defecting will be slim if not brought down to zero.

I mean, if you are part of building a house, the chances of pulling down that house will be very slim but if you are there to just rent, you can do whatever you want to do. So, we are not going to be available as a platform for defectors anymore. They should come in now and this is an opportunity for credible aspirants to come in, join the party and let’s build the party of our future together and have that
desired nation that we all crave for.’’

Speaking on the approval of $1 Billion for the federal government to fight insurgency in the North-east by the 36 states governors under the aegis of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Dr Omotosho demanded for judicious use of the fund while also appealing to the federal government to also give special consideration to other parts of the country that needs special attention.

‘’ The Labour Party is totally concerned, very concerned about the deployment of such huge amount of money to just one area of the country. Yes, they are part of the people of this country, they are part of the people whose interests we represent but you will agree with me that there are lots of cries from other parts of the country as well.

‘’Beyond even the deployment of the money, the major concern of people out there is that, how are we sure that these funds will be judiciously spent for what it is meant to be spent for? If we get all of these details and everybody can truly see not just the willingness to implement, but the ability and capabilities to actually implement in a transparent and accountable way, it becomes a lot easier. Because the people of the North East at the end of the day after all are still Nigerians, they are still part of the people that we represent in the Labour Party.’’

On the pervasive fuel scarcity in the country, the LP chairman called for concerted efforts by government and stakeholders in the oil sector to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians.

‘’I expect a very responsive government to do something, project ahead of what they think may be the bottlenecks and then begin to provide solutions and prepare plans for it ahead of time.

“Even accidents too on the road because a lots of people will be travelling in this season, so we expect responsible government to anticipate what problems are likely going to be and be very proactive and begin to take actions.”