Labour Party: Peter Obi’s 2023 candidacy was injustice — Faduri alleges

A former presidential aspirant of the Labour Party (LP), Faduri Oluwadare Joseph, has described the emergence of Mr Peter Obi as the party’s 2023 presidential candidate as an act of injustice, alleging that party leaders sabotaged his candidacy to pave the way for Obi.

Faduri, who is the leader of the Rescue Movement for a New Nigeria, accused key LP figures including Barrister Julius Abure, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, and Dr Abayomi Arabambi of conspiring to remove him from the presidential race just days before the party’s primaries in 2022.

According to him, the party’s ticket was handed to Obi in exchange for money, despite his efforts to revive the LP from obscurity.

“What is happening in the Labour Party today is nothing short of poetic justice — a karma unfolding before the very eyes of the nation,” he said in a statement released to journalists. “It is the consequence of the injustice, betrayal, and deceit done to me and my team in 2022, when some leaders of the party connived to rob me of the presidential ticket, a ticket we laboured tirelessly to build, and handed it over to Mr Peter Obi,”

Faduri claimed that prior to his involvement, the Labour Party was inactive and lacked any viable political structure. “I rallied my team, invested resources, and reawakened the sleeping giant,” he said. 

Despite the alleged betrayal, he said he chose not to pursue legal action, citing patriotism. “I could have blocked the Labour Party from appearing on the ballot. I had every legal and strategic right to do so, but I refused.”

Faduri maintained that the party’s ongoing internal crisis stems from the fallout of the 2022 primaries, declaring, “After I was unjustly removed, the peace and unity we had built collapsed.”

He also criticised Obi’s candidacy as lacking moral legitimacy: “The candidacy of Peter Obi was built on injustice. No matter how loud the noise or how vast the donations, the foundation was flawed.”

Recounting his earlier political journey, Faduri noted that he began with the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which he said was similarly hijacked by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

He described himself as “the David of that election,” insisting he could have defeated any political heavyweight if not betrayed by leaders blinded by greed. Faduri further alleged that the LP’s current leadership is incapable of delivering real change, calling them “transactional politicians driven by money and self-interest.”

While confirming that he remains a member of the Labour Party, Faduri declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, though he has not confirmed the party under which he will run.

“It is time for a generational shift,” he said. “From Tinubu to Atiku to Peter Obi, they’ve had their time. It is time for a young, vibrant, and untainted leader to take Nigeria to its promised land.”

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