Don’t twist Obi’s visit, Labour Party tells Tanko

Management of the internal wrangling over the leadership of the Labour Party reared its head on Tuesday as the spokesman for the Presidential Candidate of the LP, Tanko Yunusa, and the National Publicity Secretary, Pastor Obiora Ifoh of the Labour Party, differed on the visit of Obi to the national secretariat of the Labour Party.

While the party sees the visit as an endorsement of the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the party by the presidential candidate, the spokesman for Obi said the visit was purely in an effort to secure reconciliation by all warring parties.

Reacting to the statement by Tanko Yunusa in which it denounced that Peter Obi’s visit was an endorsement of the Labour Party’s (LP) National Working Committee led by Julius Abure.

For the Labour Party and host of the presidential candidate, Peter Obi, it was maintained that the visit was well-intentioned and should not be twisted by the spokesman of the leader of the party.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Pastor Obiora Ifoh, warned Yunusa Tanko against twisting the intention of the visit.

The statement reads in part: “The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been called to a statement issued by the spokesperson to our National Leader, Peter Obi, titled, ‘Obi visits to LP, Reconciliatory, not endorsement…’ Dr Tanko Yunusa, wherein he tried to twist the well-intentioned visit of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate on the leadership of the party.

“As a party, we are pleased that our leader has chosen to reconcile all aggrieved members and stakeholders of the party.

“This noble step taken by Mr Obi is in line with the call made by the Labour Party’s National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, during his maiden press conference last week titled ‘Triumphant Resumption of Abure-led NWC’ wherein he pleaded with all the warring parties, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), to sheath their swords and join in the rebuilding process in the party.

“Peter Obi’s visit and speech on Tuesday during the FCT solidarity rally have been variedly described in some quarters as an endorsement of the Abure leadership, being his very first visit after the successful National Convention of the party held in March.

“But to us as a party, we cherish this visit on whatever nomenclature as a positive wind blowing on the party.

“We believe that very soon, the reconciliatory efforts will be consummated and metamorphosed into a political force that will usher in a government that will liberate Nigerians from the shackles of maladministration we are presently facing in the country.

The publicity secretary in the statement urged the NLC and its political commission to understand that we are not the foe and to see us as an ally in the battle to rescue Nigeria.

It said that “they should emulate the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which has shown greater understanding and willingness to partner with the Labour Party in our efforts to make a new Nigeria possible.”

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