Julius Abure, national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), says he will sue Oluchi Opara, suspended national treasurer of the party.
BACKGROUND
During a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Opara accused Abure of allegedly misappropriating N3.5 billion belonging to the party.
She said the N3.5 billion was raised from sales of forms and fundraising activities in the buildup to the 2023 elections.
Opara said she was compelled to raise alarm because the “internal mechanisms” in the party have “failed woefully” to hold Abure accountable for “brazen abuse of office and misappropriation of party funds”.
In its reaction, the LP said the national treasurer is “under some external influence” and only read a press statement written by “our detractors to further tar the image of the party”.
The LP also said it did not raise N3.5 billion from the sale of forms as the national treasurer alleged.
On Wednesday, the LP suspended Opara from the party for six months.
Speaking on Thursday in an interview on Arise Television, Abure said the allegations against him are baseless.
He said Oluchi is painting a wrong picture of the party’s leadership to the public.
“She is only being mischievous by misinforming members of the public on the true state of affairs in Labour Party,” Abure said.
“The picture she has painted is a very wrong picture of the administration of Labour Party and I am very sure that is why the National Working Committee of the party is enraged by her character and behaviour.
“Some of these issues when it was brought to the attention of the National Working Committee, the NWC had already set up a committee to look into the matters that were raised.
“She disregarded the committee and went ahead to make these allegations all around the place. She said Peter Obi intervened; yes, Peter Obi intervened and also asked her to hold on, that those issues were going to be resolved.
“But she left, disregarded the party leadership and decided to make these allegations that are spurious, baseless on the leadership of the party.
“My lawyers are working. By today, cases of defamation will be filed against Oluchi Opara who came to national television to defame my person and to bring down my reputation.”
‘OUR PARTY UNDER ATTACK’
The LP chairman said the party is under attack from external forces who are seeking to destroy it.
“If you follow activities closely, you will recall that the party came under attack after the general election of 2023,” Abure said.
“Obviously, the intention is to destabilise the party, disorganise it, take over the leadership of the party and therefore destroy the very foundation of the party so that there won’t be credible opposition in the country.
“It is clear that a lot of people are being used to disrupt and cause chaos in the party.”
‘I HAVE NO INTENTION TO CONTEST EDO GOVERNORSHIOP ELECTION’
Abure further said he has no intention of contesting the Edo governorship election billed for September 21.
The LP chairman said he will ensure the party conducts a free, fair and credible primary election for all aspirants.
“I must state here clearly that I am not interested in the gubernatorial race. I am not interested; I am not going to run,” he said.
“I feel that the process must be transparent, must be open and must be competitive.
“I have quarrelled over the years that the reason why we have failure in leadership is because all other political parties who have given us leaders over the years have lacked internal party democracy and therefore, the best cannot come out off the parties.
“I will ensure acting and working with my other colleagues in the NWC that the process will be free, fair and credible and I feel that I have that responsibility to ensure that I do that for the people of Edo to make sure that we get the best of the best candidate.”
