- Peter Obi and Dr. Alex Otti plan a stakeholders meeting on September 4 to address internal issues within the Labour Party
- The Labour Party’s National Working Committee denies knowledge of the meeting, raising tensions amid ongoing leadership disputes within the party
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, and Dr. Alex Otti, the party’s governor from Abia State, have scheduled an extended stakeholders meeting for September 4. According to a notice jointly signed by Obi and Otti, the meeting will be held at the Banquet Hall, Government House in Umuahia, Abia State, and is expected to feature prominent party members, including LP Chairman Julius Abure and four other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
However, the NWC has denied any prior knowledge of the meeting. LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Obiora Ifoh, told Daily Trust, “We are unaware of any meeting.”
The meeting notice, published in a national newspaper, lists other invitees, including the party’s former vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, current and former Senators and House of Representatives members, and representatives from the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), which are members of the party’s National Executive Council. The Deputy Governor of Abia State, gubernatorial candidates from Edo and Ondo states, and former gubernatorial candidates from all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria are also included.
Obi’s chief spokesperson, Mallam Yunusa Tanko, clarified that the meeting addressed the party’s internal issues and did not intend to remove the Abure-led NWC or target individuals for retribution. Tanko emphasized that Obi and Otti are united in resolving the party’s challenges, stating, “Let us call everybody together. Let us look at these issues and solve them.”
When asked about Obi and Otti’s authority to organize the meeting, Tanko pointed out that the ongoing leadership disputes involving NLC and TUC officials warrant such discussions. He affirmed that as key party leaders, Obi and Otti have the right to convene the meeting to address the issues.
In response, LP National Chairman Julius Abure, after a recent NWC meeting in Abuja, urged Governor Otti to focus on governance and avoid interfering in party administration. Abure’s statement followed a meeting with Otti, during which the governor expressed his intention to hold a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to dissolve various executive councils within the party.