What do you think about speaking on behalf of a party facing a leadership crisis, as the acting spokesperson for the LP?
You imply that the party is facing a leadership crisis, but I do not share that view. We have a few members who have engaged in activities against the party, which has created unnecessary tension. The party has taken decisive action against them.
Regarding the accusation of forgery against the National Chairman and four others by a forum of the party’s state chairmen at a meeting held in Asaba, did you examine the case?
Abure did not fill out any form for any aspirant. You purchased your forms and filled them out, and the party simply uploaded your documents to INEC as requested. However, Abure went to the police and claimed that the signatures on the documents were forged. Who forged the documents? The National Chairman had nothing to do with the documents he submitted. It was purely a clerical task. He submitted them to the clerks who uploaded your documents. He did not have to see them because he did not pay for the forms. In any case, he was used as a placeholder.
That was the end of the matter. They proceeded because they wanted to deal with the party based on external forces seeking to ruin the Labour Party. We have evidence of these underhand dealings. They have gone to court, and we have already tendered evidence of the various documents that he signed. So why create a fuss? Let the court decide. That is the true story of the forgery issue. Nobody forged anything. They are making spurious allegations, and they will fall flat in court.
What was your decision on the matter?
The party stands with the National Chairman of the party. You and Julius Abure saw what happened in Asaba. Decisions were made.
Is it true that the leadership crisis in LP is fueled by APC?
Of course, we have evidence that when this crisis began, the APC quickly moved in and started sponsoring them. We are also aware of what happened in Imo State, where five people conducted three different governorship primaries. What was their intention? Because they have been reached out to act in a script of a divided house, they played along. Their intention was to cause a crisis in the party and sustain division in the party. We are also aware that they are looking for a court where they can ask that the Labour Party be disqualified from contesting the Imo state Guber election over disunity.
They are heavily mobilized to carry out this script by the Imo State government. We know that they want to present our candidate as embattled before the elections.
At the national level, they are being bankrolled by the APC to see if our presidential candidate, His Excellency, Peter Gregory Obi’s petitions and appeals will have a problem at the end of the day. They are trying to sustain a fight and present a semblance of division in the party. The APC leaders have hijacked this, but none of these things will stand because we have our position. They are doing all they can to ensure that Peter Obi’s victory, which we are trying to reclaim, is scuttled.
Is it true that both parties have withdrawn their cases from the court and are willing to settle out of court?
It is not necessary. After the last court session, they held a press conference, saying that they would seek a court settlement and were willing to withdraw the matter. We are asking, what matter are they withdrawing when they have no head over it? Allow this matter to run its course in court so that those who have been compromised within the party can be identified and dealt with.
We are not settling out of court. We want the court to hear this matter and punish those who are alleging falsehoods
