Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, has expressed his opinion on the speculations surrounding the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, being wooed to abandon the party for another in 2027.
Umeh stated that those attempting to persuade Obi to leave the Labour Party “may be on a wide goose chase.”
Umeh, a Labour Party chieftain and former national Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), made this statement during an extended stakeholders’ meeting of the Labour Party in Umuahia on Thursday. He emphasized that Obi’s success in the 2023 polls was largely due to the platform provided by the Labour Party, making it ungrateful for him to abandon the party.
Umeh said, “Wooing Peter Obi out of Labour Party will not be the right thing because LP gave him the limelight with which Nigerian people embraced him in the last election. So, whatever is happening is for him to build on the party and continue to make efforts to advance his interest. Those who are calling on him to abandon Labour Party may be on a wide goose chase.”
Umeh commended Obi and Governor Alex Otti of Abia State for their efforts in repositioning the Labour Party through the Umuahia stakeholders meeting, which addressed critical issues and made significant decisions for the party’s advancement.
Umeh added, “We are happy that issues affecting the party have been addressed. No organization would like to operate with a leadership that is a suspect or not recognized. We were concerned about how our last National Working Committee, NWC, was not recognized by INEC, and that was why we came to correct things. It was obvious that its tenure had elapsed, so, it will be foolhardy for us to continue with them because you cannot build on a faulty foundation.”
The meeting resulted in the appointment of former Finance Minister, Senator Nenadi Usman, to chair a 29-member Caretaker Committee responsible for running the party’s affairs in the interim and organizing congresses and convention within 90 days. The meeting was attended by prominent Labour Party members, including Obi’s running mate, Dr. Datti Ahmed, and representatives from the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress.
