The Chief Spokesperson for the Obi-Datti campaign organisation, Yinusa Tanko, has explained that the current crisis rocking the Labour Party could have been prevented if the National Chairman of the Party, Julius Abure, had listened to the advice given by the 2023 Presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi.
Tanko who made this known while speaking on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily on Monday, explained that the failure of Abure led leadership of the LP to organise an all-inclusive convention, caused the current crisis rocking the party.
According to him, the recently concluded national convention of the party which returned Julius Abure as the national chairman was not all-inclusive.
“His Excellency, Peter Obi, has made a concerted effort in trying to intervene at any point we have this particular issue and trying to improve,” Tanko said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday.
“When the issue of the national convention came up, he (Obi) suggested to the national chairman that because we are bigger now, we need to have a wider consultation: meet with responsible and interested people such as the TUC and NLC, stakeholders, the Obedient group – young generation people who are interested in seeing Nigeria work. Meet with leaders who have different ideas that can lead us to a greater height.
“All of these were the suggestions that he (Obi) made, and not only did he make those suggestions, he practicalities them because he met with the members of the
“He (Obi) met with the leadership of the party recently in Asaba trying to give them ideas on how he thinks certain things could be done and you could improve our situation but of course, you know how politics is, sometimes, people may be trying to encourage people, but they do something different.
“You can only take a horse to the river, but you cannot force it to drink water, so that’s exactly what Peter Obi has done, he has done so greatly to see if we can find a solution to some of the problems we find ourselves,” Tanko said.
The LP Chieftain further emphasised that while Abure has the right to contest the national chairmanship position again, it was only proper that the right things are done by opening the door for more people to be part of the process.
Tanko further claimed that Abure went outside an initial agreement to have an all-inclusive national convention which ought to start from the ward, local government and state levels before the national level.
He noted that the convention held in Nnewi Anambra State that returned Abure as the party’s leader did not conform with that agreement and therefore was not acceptable to everyone within the party.
While clarifying issues on the question asked if the crisis in the party could be a problem for Obi in the next election, Tanko said Obi is a brand of his own and that he and other people will always move with him wherever he goes.
Premium Politics reported that Abure was re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates during the convention of the party held on March 27, in Nnewi, Anambra State capital, despite strong opposition by the Nigeria Labour Congress, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, which had also said none of its officials monitored the convention while the party’s Board of Trustees insisted that Abure’s tenure had expired.
It would be recalled that before the controversial convention, the NLC called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organise a legitimate and all-inclusive national convention for the party.
