The leadership of the Labour Party on Friday debunked speculation that its National Chairman, Julius Abure, is secretly working for the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The rebuttal was issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh.
Ifoh, who accused the Nigeria Labour Congress and former party chieftain, Kenneth Okonwkwo, of championing their persecution, described the allegation as a figment of their imagination.
According to him, the rumour was a deliberate attempt to demarket LP in favour of rival parties.
He said, “It has become imperative for the leadership of the Labour Party to quickly respond to the handiwork of our adversaries and those who want to desperately frustrate the leadership of the Labour Party at all cost.
“After the landmark court judgment affirming Abure as the national chairman of the party, some persons including a former Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, and the acting Chairman of the NLC Political Commission Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, have tried to push the narrative that Abure is working for the APC and that is why the Labour Party has been winning all its court cases.
“I must put it clearly that this narrative is not only misleading and mischievous but also a calculated attempt to continue to distract, derail, and also give the party leadership a bad name to hang it. It is sufficient for us to put it on record that the Labour Party is not working for APC and that the Labour Party is autonomous.”
Continuing, Ifoh warned the NLC leadership to stop meddling in the party affairs and face the primary duty Nigerians elected them to do.
The spokesman said the Abure-led National Working Committee has proven repeatedly through the victories of many party’s candidates at the 2023 elections and subsequent election petition tribunal that it meant business.
“I must state clearly that the Labour Party has been and is still critical of APC more than NLC. We put it on record that the NLC, in all its ramifications, has failed the Nigerian workers. If there is any leadership of the party from its inception that has been very critical of the government, it is the Abure leadership of the Labour Party.
“For any person to say that that leadership is working for APC-led government, it can only be mischief carried too far and a calculated attempt to distract the leadership of the party. So it is very clear that it is even the NLC that is working for the APC, and for them to accuse the Labour Party of working for the APC is ironic and laughable. We want to advise the NLC that it is time it focused on its primary duty.
“For Kenneth Okonkwo, we have decided that we won’t join issues with him because it is very clear that he is still ‘living in bondage’. Today, he says one thing with one side of his mouth. Tomorrow, he will say a different thing from the other side of his mouth. We can only advise him that there is a huge difference between politics and skit-making. He should consider concentrating on the latter to boast his followership,” he stated.