The leadership of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has said that the Labor Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is free to quit the party.
The NLC, however, has vowed not to rest until Julius Abure is removed as national chairman of the LP.
Speaking to Punch, NLC spokesperson Benson Upah said despite the “illegal” national convention that brought Abure back to power, the union would never confer legitimacy or recognition to his leadership.
He said: “Our position on this issue is clear and has not changed. Abure remains unknown to us. It’s not a matter of removing it. As far as we know it doesn’t exist.”
This development comes at a time when a group of retired workers under the aegis of the Lagos Assembly of Labor Veterans and Trade Unionists also called for the resignation of the party’s embattled National Chairman and NLC President, Joe Ajaero, over their controversial leadership. conflict.
The party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, also appears to be at loggerheads with the LP leadership over the way it conducted the convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, despite his plea for wider consultations.
The former Anambra State governor had last Friday evening vented his frustrations during an X (formerly Twitter) Space session organized by Parallel Facts.
While explaining his absence from the national convention that saw Julius Abure re-elected as national chairman of the party, Obi told his audience that he did not attend the event because the leadership of the party had not heeded his call for wider consultation with relevant stakeholders before the elections. excercise.
His speech has since set tongues wagging and further fueled previous speculation that the LP presidential candidate may have started looking for a new platform despite being given a 2027 ticket at the convention.
But Upah said the question of whether Obi should stay or leave the party should not be up for debate, saying the former governor was free to decide his fate.
According to him, the NLC cannot stand in the way of the presidential candidate if he decides to defect to another political platform.
While describing him as an asset, the spokesperson reiterated that the Congress would not stand in his way if he chose to leave.
“The right of choice is available to Mr. Obi. If he chooses to leave the party, that is his preference. We cannot judge him for that. But if he chooses to stay, Peter Obi will of course be an asset every day. I rest my case on that,” he added.
