LP crisis: ‘Who are you fighting?’, Obi asks Abure

Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in last year’s election, Peter Obi, has replied Barrister Julius Abure who accused him of betrayal.

Daily Trust reports that at the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, on Monday, Abure accused both Obi and sole governor of the party, Dr Alex Otti of Abia State, for ganging up against him by organising a stakeholders meeting in Umuahia, Abia State, where a former Minister of Finance, Mrs Esther Nenadi Usman, was elected as chairman of a 29-man caretaker committee to resolve the crisis in the party.

Contacted, Obi who spoke through Comrade Ibrahim Umar, spokesperson of Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), expressed disappointment with Abure.

“I am disappointed, but not surprised, by the false accusations of betrayal label against our principal Mr. Peter Obi by Julius Abure, the Embattled national chairman of the party. It is clear that this is a politically motivated attempt to mislead the public.

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“The stakeholders meeting of the LP held at Umuahia, on Wednesday, was meant to resolve the lingering leadership crisis and chart a way forward. The decision was not in anyway personal.

“Therefore the Obidient Movement have stand in total solidarity with the actions and decisions of the stakeholders, which have always been guided by a commitment to unity, justice and transparency,” Umar said.

He accused Abure of misleading the public and defaming the character of Mr Peter Obi and even reaching the extent of calling him a betrayer.

He said, “Simply because he intervened for Justice? His (Abure) tenure ends in June, but he refused to leave the stage, and also vowed that he is ready to fight. Who is he fighting? We understand his desperation for power, but it high time for him to put the interest of the party over his personal interest. We will not engage in name calling and character assassination. Instead, we call on Julius Abure to accept the outcome of the intervention by Mr Peter Obi and Gov Alex Otti which aimed to resolve any misunderstandings, and chart a way forward.”