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The leadership of the Julius Abure faction of the Labour Party has decried the arrest of its National Vice Chairman, South East, Comrade Ceekay Igara, by the men of Nigerian police allegedly on the orders of Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti, on Saturday.
According to a statement by Dr. Ayo Olorunfemi on Saturday, the Deputy National Chairman of the party revealed that Comrade Igara was arrested in Aba while holding a party meeting with some of our party leaders when they were surrounded by the Police and whisked away without any warrant.
He noted that Labour Party leadership is totally in shock over this development particularly as it is coming on the orders of the party’s only state governor. The party is worried that His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti who it laboured for in the 2023 governorship election and defended his victory has suddenly turned to be a tiger ready to tear apart the party that did him favour even when every other party rejected him.
The statement reads, “Labour Party is still at a loss over what may have caused the same governor who a few months ago stood by the party during our convention but suddenly turned to launch the worst offensive at the leadership. He hosted the Extended Stakeholders meeting in Abia state and thereafter formed a caretaker committee hoping to wrestle power from our leadership. He unsuccessfully shopped for courts to grant him some frivolous demands, all to no avail.
“After the courts affirmed the leadership of Barrister Julius Abure and declared the Nnewi Convention valid, the party had subsequently issued an olive branch to the governor, hoping that he will seize the golden opportunity to retrace his steps and reintegrate himself into the party, we are sincerely at a loss on why he is still working hard to destabilise and destroy the same party that gave him shelter when he needed it most.
“It is surprisingly that he has resorted to introducing brute and anachronistic form of political intimidation. The arrest of our zonal chairman is the height of his political savagery and an indication of a kind of person Otti really is. It is often said that power does not change a man, rather power only brings out the true nature of a man. We were fooled by his humane posture, not knowing that he was just masquerading his tyrannical true person.
“We are therefore demanding the immediate release of Comrade Ceekay Igara from the custody of the police or charge him to court within the next twenty four hours as specified by the law.
Recall that the crisis has continued to linger in the Labour Party which has created two factions
