A former Labour Party (LP) Deputy National Chairman, Callistus Okafor has said that the internal crisis in the party involving Chairman, Julius Abure, could negatively impact the chances of Peter Obi at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.
Okafor insisted that the crisis could undermine the credibility of the party, thereby having a negative impact in Obi’s legal case.
Sharing his thoughts on the situation while speaking to reporters in Abuja on Friday, Okafor urged Obi and the party leadership to take swift action to resolve the crisis and prevent it from escalating any further.
He noted that the reason for the crisis was because Obi delegated incompetent people to deal with the situation in the party.
He said, “Peter did not handle my case very well. He was busy doing his campaigns and maybe delegated incompetent hands to go and sort out the problem. The people he delegated did not do that job very well
“Anytime there is trouble only roundtable will solve it, and such discussions must not come with threats.
“So, it is disheartening that this kind of thing (leadership crisis) will be happening in the Labour Party that has not seen the kind of light it is seeing today before.
“What is happening now occurred because Obi, as a leader, delegated incompetent people to go and sort out this problem. Instead of sorting out the problem, they were busy threatening and boasting of what they can do. Today, the party is paying dearly for it.
“Instead of Peter Obi to concentrate on his case at the tribunal, they want him to come down and start dealing with Abure issue? No.
Nevertheless, the Abure issue, if care is not taken will affect him (Obi) too bad, because Julius Abure is not the party national chairman, because the constitution of Labour Party says so. An Acting National Secretary cannot become the Chairman in the absence of Mr Chairman.”
The former Deputy National Chairman, however, highlighted the importance of unity within the party and called on all members to put aside their differences and work towards a common goal.
