The Labour Party has dismissed the speculation that its governorship candidate for Imo State, Athan Achonu, has a deal with the State Governor, Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressive Congress.
According to Vanguard, the National Vice Chairman of LP, South East, Innocent Okeke, issued a statement on Monday, describing the insinuation as laughable and an act of desperation.
Okeke urged aggrieved aspirants who participated in the party’s April 15 governorship primary election to desist from engaging in campaign of calumny.
He maintained that the party organized the most transparent and credible primary election, and called on all members of the party to join hands to achieve victory.
He said, “At present, the party in Imo is concerned about building bridges and embarking on genuine reconciliation of every aggrieved member, bearing in mind that what is happening in the Labour Party is not peculiar to it. It is common with party administration in Nigeria.
“Based on the foregoing, I urge every aggrieved aspirant to apply caution and shun any form of blackmail against the party members as we recently saw in a trending voice message, purporting that our governorship candidate, Senator Athan Achonu has a deal with the incumbent governor to undermine the party’s expected victory in Imo which is not true.
“The above assumption is not only laughable but exposes the desperation of the originator. We must embrace the spirit of sportsmanship. Let the defeated in a fair contest congratulate the winner and work for the party’s victory as we have over time witnessed in all the other states where Labour Party conducted her governorship primaries.
“Contrary to what naysayers are selling to the unsuspecting public, the election was done strictly in compliance with the delegates’ list as they emerged from their wards after a credible congress. As we know, each ward represents a community in the state. This simply means that 305 Imo state communities gathered at the Landmark Event Centre Owerri, on the 15th April 2023, to elect the best candidate to fly the flag of Labour Party for the forthcoming election. Each Community in the state was given an opportunity to contribute to who later became the standard bearer.
“As National Vice Chairman (South East) of our great party and a member of the Electoral Committee, I attest to the fact that every process taken to conduct the primary was transparent and without bias. We understood that it was never going to be easy managing sixteen aspirants in a single election, but we did it seamlessly to the applause of the contestants. Those trying to plant seed of discord in our party over the conduct of the primary election should have a rethink. They should rather explore avenues provided in the party’s constitution in seeking redress, not by mudslinging.”