In the midst of the controversies trailing the Labour Party (LP) concerning its presidential campaign council(PCC) list, a party chieftain, Rufai Siddiq has slammed the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for refusing to honour his pledge to compensate Oluwadare Joseph with 500 million naira for stepping down for him at the party’s primaries in May.
According to the spokesman of the ‘Rescue Nigeria Movement’, Rufai Siddiq, a group loyal to Joseph, the national chairman, Julius Abure is the one to be blamed for what is happening concerning the payment of the money because he was the one who gave the presidential ticket to Obi on a platter in a primary election that “never held.”
OsunDaily News reports that Siddiq, who made this revelation in a press conference in Abuja, said the party’s refusal to either compensate Oluwadare Joseph or get across to him is unfair, adding that every attempt made for the money to be paid to him has proved abortive.
He advanced that after Joseph has spent over N500 million on intent/nomination forms, contact/mobilisations and reviving the party nationally, he was compelled to step down for Obi, and yet he has refused to compensate him as agreed.
He added that “it was on the day of the primary election at Orchard Hotel in Asaba, that the National Chairman of the party asked Oluwadare Joseph to step down for Obi.”
Siddiq, who alleged that the party barred Joseph from partaking in party activities preceding the presidential primary election after he had bought his form, pointed out that he and the over 8.3 million supporters he brought to the party have been unfairly treated since he dropped his ambition for Obi to run as flagbearer.
The Rescue Nigeria Movement spokesman explained that Joseph, who was part of the LP’s loyalist to first seek the 2023 Presidential nomination from the party, made the growth of the party his priority by using his resources and that of the members of the Rescue Movement to revive the party.
“The Labour Party has refused to reach out to Oluwadare Joseph or compensate him for the over N500m he spent on intent/nomination forms, contact/mobilisations and reviving the party nationally. Not only that, they succeeded in frustrating every attempt we made for settlement after forcing Oluwadare Joseph under duress to step down for Obi,” he bemoaned.
This article was originally published on OsunDaily News
