In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the NLC spokesman, Benson Upah, said that despite the ‘illegal’ national convention that returned Abure to office, the union would never recognise him as the national chairman of the party.
He said, “Our position on this matter is clear and has not changed. Abure remains unknown to us. It is not a question of removal. As far as we know, he does not exist.”
Obi also expressed his frustrations with how the party’s national convention was conducted at an X (formerly Twitter) Space session organised by Parallel Facts last Friday night.
While explaining his absence at the national convention that got Julius Abure re-elected as the party’s national chairman, Obi told his audience that he didn’t attend the event because the party’s leadership failed to heed his appeal for wider consultation with relevant stakeholders before the exercise.
His comment has since set tongues wagging and further fuelled earlier speculations that the LP presidential candidate may have started to look for a new platform despite being guaranteed the 2027 ticket at the convention.
But Upah said the issue of whether Obi should stay or leave the party should not be debated, saying the former governor was free to determine his destiny.
