On Friday, the Lamidi Apapa faction of the Labour Party requested that Peter Obi withdraw his petition before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal due to what they deemed a “lack of seriousness.”
The faction claims that the advice became necessary as a result of the incident that occurred on Thursday at the Tribunal, where the court halted hearing in the petition filed by Obi and the LP against the election of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking about the elimination of fuel subsidies, the LP faction criticised the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria for opposing the new petrol pump price.
They argued that the LP’s stance on the elimination of fuel subsidies during the campaign had not changed, claiming that “we cannot reverse that position because it was not our candidate who won the presidential election.”
These concerns were brought up at a press conference in Abuja by the LP’s factional national publicity secretary, Abayomi Arabambi.
He informed the media that since PEPT began meeting, Obi has been unable to offer any verifiable evidence to support his claims.
Arabambi claimed that Obi went to court to contest Tinubu’s victory because he and his cohorts had different goals from the Nigerian people, who freely supported LP, and that this was in opposition to the wishes of the people.
“We have followed with keen interest the dishonourable developments and approach by the so-called legal team assembled by Peter Obi challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission and we have, like many Nigerians, come to the conclusion that Obi is not only taking Nigerians for a ride but would continue to waste the hard-earned resources donated by Nigerians for this purpose to even enrich himself the,” he said.
“All of you here who have been following this case can remember that INEC announced Peter Obi was unable to pay for CTC form EC08 and other documents on the day we got into a fight in court with (Julius) Abure’s group. The materials they would have needed for the Election Petition Tribunal hearing had to be reduced by 30% as a result of this.
“How would any right thinking person go to an election tribunal with only 30% of the documents when none of them would be accepted or agreed to be tendered by other political parties?
“They reported that two of their counsels were ill three days ago, and yesterday (Thursday), they were unable to file even a single process with the collection of SANs with Obi. This is what we have been claiming—that they are merely attempting to mislead the general public, mislead the Obidients, and give them false hope that there is something they can do at the tribunal.
“It is clear from their attitude that Obi could not afford to pay N1.5 million, as they stated in a letter to INEC. They are lying to whom? Counsel was ill?
“For this reason, we have steadfastly argued that Obi is not a serious threat. He didn’t bring anything to the party. He did nothing for the party and did not finance the election or the party. He only came to disrupt everything and fool Nigerians into thinking he has something to give them.
Therefore, the Labour Party is urging him to give up his self-centered ambition and refrain from causing trouble for the party if he has nothing significant to say in the tribunal.
Subsidised fuel
“Whatever we have agreed upon during our campaign, and as a party that promotes peace, equity, and justice in Nigeria, then we can’t be found endorsing and criticising at the same time,” Arabambi said. Our stance is that the organised labour that supported Obi’s position must not be seen working against him on the same thing that Tinubu, Atiku, and even Obi said they would do. Obi has stated that he will end fuel subsidies on his first day in office.
Obi claimed that subsidies were an organised crime that needed to be stopped. There can be no strikes called by the NLC. If they do, it is obvious that they are just being mischievous for a reason that only they know, or perhaps they have something against the President that they ought to come clean about and tell Nigerians. As the Labour Party, that is how we feel.
