Labour Party (LP) leaders, including 2023 presidential flag-bearer, Mr. Peter Obi; Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, and Chairman Caretaker Committee, Senator Nenadi Usman, have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to implement the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment, affirming Senator Usman’s leadership.
These Labour Party bigwigs at a parallel National Executive Council (NEC) at a hotel in Abuja on Wednesday – earlier today, ratified the appointment of the National Caretaker Committee led by Nenadi Usman and passed vote of confidence in Peter Obi and Alex Otti as party leaders.
According to Obi, the lingering crisis in the party was avoidable, he having done much to persuade ousted Chairman Julius Abure, to abide by the decision of the party stakeholders.
“We discussed a length, and Gov. Otti agreed to carry the burden of uniting the party. But all efforts failed.
“But I can telling you that the court has done the right thing, and it is now for all of us to go out there and jubilate,” Obi said.
Specifically, Mr Peter Obi extended an olive branch to the Abure-led faction, urging stakeholders to show love and unity as Senator Usman has called on the Abure-led group to accept the olive branch and work towards building a strong opposition party.
Echoing Mr. Obi, the Abia Governor said several efforts were made to find solutions to end the crisis, believing that the party has come to stay with the arrival of the CTC of Supreme Court Judgement, which is in favor of the appellants.
According to him, the stakeholders’ meeting held in Umuahia on the 4th of November, 2024, set up a 29-member caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman but was challenged by the Abure-led group.
“We expected everyone to key in and honor the Supreme Court’s judgment, and in any case, they don’t have a choice because the Supreme Court is the final arbiter,” Otti said.
Earlier, Senator Usman announced that her committee would in due course, review the emergence of the Labour Party candidate in the Anambra governorship primaries, which produced George Moghalu as flag-bearer.
She urged stakeholders to acknowledge the momentous occasion, which has ushered in a new vista for the party where, through integrity, a responsible leadership would be enthroned.
Sen. Usman called on the Abure-led group to embrace peace by accepting the olive branch extended to it to build a viral opposition party capable of challenging the anomalies of the ruling party.
Meanwhile the resolutions at the end of the NEC meeting resolved to submit the CTC to INEC for immediate implementation, solidifying Senator Usman’s caretaker leadership.
“The NEC resolution emphasized unity, urging party members to put aside differences and work towards a common goal.
“The NEC rectified the appointment of Senator Usman’s 29-member caretaker committee, set up in November 2024.
“The NEC called for a review of the primaries that produced George Moghalu as the party’s flag-bearer in the coming governorship election in Anambra State,” the statement by Senator Usman surmised.
