By-elections: ‘Uber politician,’ Abure counters Peter Obi’s backing of ADC

The Julius Abure-led Labour Party (LP) has countered the directive of its 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, asking members to vote for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Saturday’s bye-elections.

Abure, reacting to the development, called out Obi and the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, whom he alleged were bent on destroying the LP after it had offered them the platform to contest the 2023 polls.

Obi had earlier explained that due to the fate of the LP’s participation in the elections and the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to exclude it from the polls, members should vote for the ADC — especially in the case of Anambra State, where one of the candidates is the widow of the late member of the state House of Assembly who was abducted and killed by kidnappers.

But reacting to the directive, Abure described Obi’s action as “malicious”, asking members to go ahead and cast their votes for LP candidates.

He said Obi had turned himself into what he called an “Uber politician,” moving from one political platform to another without end.

“It is unfortunate that Obi has turned himself into an irony and a paradox in the Nigeria political space.

“He is now reputed to have elevated subterfuge in the game of politics and has of late been crying wolf where there is none.

“He has turned himself into an ‘Uber’ politician, not willing to take a position and stand by his decision. He has now booked a place for himself in the Guinness Book of Records as a person affiliated to many political parties pari passu, all in his desperation to preside over Nigeria,” he stated.

Abure accused Obi and Otti of being behind the leadership crisis in the LP, beginning with the decision to back the setting up of a parallel structure even when the tenure of his National Working Committee (NWC) had not expired officially.

“Nigerians should not forget in a hurry that it was Peter Obi who created the crisis in the Labour Party, which he is now citing as a reason why people should not vote for the party.

“Peter Obi and Alex Otti, the Governor of Abia State, hosted the ill-fated and illegal stakeholders meeting in Umuahia, September 4, 2024. He has also co-funded the crisis all this while and went as far as leading a protest march to the INEC headquarters against his own party.

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“His desperation to control the soul of the party has made him go haywire.
A man who received so much goodwill from the party leadership but turned around to pay them with evil. This is why we have maintained that Peter Obi lacks the competence, character, and capacity to actualise the vision of a new Nigeria,” he added.

Abure claimed in a statement he issued in Abuja ahead of tomorrow’s elections that the LP was on the ballot paper in spite of INEC not making further comments on the fate of the party after it excluded the names of the candidates from the list of participants.

He called on members to ignore Obi and file out to vote for the LP.

Abure went on: “What Obi does not know is that the Labour Party is on the ballot and our candidates are contesting the election in spite of all his efforts to strangulate the Labour Party.

“The party, unknown to him, has done everything within the law to ensure that our candidates participate in the bye-election and, of course, in all other future elections.

“We are therefore encouraging our candidates, members,s and supporters across all the states where bye-elections are being held to be focused and ensure that we carry out our civic duties by returning the Labour Party and the candidates elected. Nigerians have come to know who Peter Obi really is.”

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