The factional national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, on Monday, distanced himself from claims of planning to withdraw the suit instituted by his party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against Bola Tinubu’s victory at the 2023 presidential election.
OsunDaily News recalls that Obi filed a suit against Tinubu at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, seeking to reclaim his ‘mandate’.
Apapa also denied disbanding the presidential campaign council (PCC) of the party, adding that he does not work for Tinubu.
The factional chairman of the LP stated this while speaking on Splash 105.5 FM, Ibadan.
He said, “Our mandate must be recovered by all. It is a lie that I want Obi to withdraw from the presidential elections tribunal. I’m not hijacking the party. We will pursue that case to the end. I have no intention to withdraw the petition because I recognise him as the presidential candidate of the party. He is also bound to recognise me as the deputy national chairman, now acting chairman. He is duty-bound to recognise me. He met us at the party.
“I did not disband the Presidential Campaign Council. The rumour is not true. What you did not make, you cannot unmake it. In the beginning, I was not the one that inaugurated it. How would I have the authority to disband it? I did not say Obi was not qualified to be the candidate of the party. I am not dealing with Tinubu. I just know him as a Nigerian and candidate of the APC.”
Restating his loyalty to LP, Apapa said, “The Labour Party is in my blood. When the party was formed 21 years ago, I was the first chairman of the party in Oyo State. From that time, till today, I am still in the Labour Party. Nobody can say he is more Labour Party than myself. I am looking for a day when the party will rule Nigeria.”
Apapa, in his reaction to the party’s meeting in Asaba, where he was suspended, said, “The Asaba meeting was illegal and my suspension is laughable. Those who attended the meeting did so out of ignorance. A court has stopped those who convened the meeting to stop parading themselves as officers of the party.
“I was at the party before Abure and anyone claiming that he doesn’t know me should not be taken seriously. If Obi is supporting Abure for illegality, that doesn’t stop Abure from going to jail if found guilty.”
