Abuja, NIGERIA — As the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) heightens, the Bashiru Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the party has declared that nothing can stop the inauguration of the President- elect, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29th as the next President of Nigeria.
The LP faction also called on the Nigerian Military, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba and the DSS to immediately arrest anyone, including the presidential candidate of the LP, Peter agitating for an interim government.
The Lamidi Apapa faction further called that any other person moving and clamouring to stop the transition process and the inauguration of President-Elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29 2023 should be arrested and prosecuted no matter his or her status in the society.
The call was made by the National Publicity Secretary of the Lamidi Apapa-led LP faction, Abayomi Arabambi while fielding questions to Journalists after the FCT High Court re-affirmed Lamidi Apapa as Acting National Chairman of the party.
Abayomi Arabambi also stated that if the Party’s legal team at the election petition Tribunal in Abuja failed to meet Lamidi Apapa in his capacity as the National Chairman and brief him on the legal proceedings within 48 hours, the faction would appoint new Lawyers to take over Labour party’s case at the tribunal.
He said that, “If anyone calls for interim administration including Peter Obi, they should be arrested. For him or any other person calling for such, we are calling on the IGP to immediately arrest them because nobody is above the law of the land.c
According to him, “You cannot plunge Nigeria into war and say that you want to rule the country. We in the Labour Party are saying capital ‘no’ to that. We don’t understand the call by Peter Obi that the President-elect, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not be sworn in on May 29th. As far as we are concerned, the LP came third in that election behind the PDP.”
Abayomi Arabambi added, “The irony is that today, the LP is not challenging the PDP that came second, that means that we are saying that the votes allocated to PDP is correct in the eyes of the law, but, the PDP that Peter Obi is defending is challenging the validity of the election that brought Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-elect.”
He stressed that PDP is claiming that it scored the highest lawful majority votes in the election while the LP is saying, “No, the votes you have, we are not challenging it because it is in accordance with what we believe in, that was why Peter Obi with Julius Abure deliberately excluded the PDP after the shenanigans with them and now challenging the results of the APC.”
“So, how on earth will he not cover his face in shame for excluding the PDP, why must he not challenge the second person but challenging the first person,” he said.
The factional National Publicity Secretary stressed that no matter the status of any individual, he or she is not above the laws of the country and must be treated as such saying that the security agencies in the country must act in order to curb all such moves in the bud.
He opined that those who are calling for interim administration where there is a President-elect is “not a true ‘Obedient’ but ‘Obidiots’ because nobody who is a genuine politician will want to see the country plunged into crisis”
He further said that every Nigerian must be subjected to the rule of law and must be made to understand that in whatever he or she does, the peace of Nigeria must come first.
Meanwhile amidst the ongoing internal wrangling, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday published the names and particulars of candidates produced by the mainstream Barr. Julius Abure-led faction of the party while ignoring Lamidi Apapa-led National Working Committee.
In Kogi, factional primaries held at the Big Brother Hotel and KAFAS Multipurpose Hall separately where Col. Dr. Vincent Enemona Abu and Barr. Okeme Adejoh emerged from the Apapa and Abure factions respectively.
INEC published the name of Barr. Adejoh who emerged from the Abure faction as LP’s guber candidate for Kogi.
Bayelsa wasn’t any different as Chief Diekivie Ikiogha and the former IYC President, Udengs Eradiri held on to separate claims of being the party flag-bearer in the State.
Eradiri, who emerged from the Abure faction got the election umpire’s nod as LP candidate in the State.
Meanwhile, Abure has said that he will appeal the ruling of FCT High Court’s refusal to decline jurisdiction over the allegation of forgery preferred against him by the Lamidi Apapa Faction locked in a leadership crisis in the Labour Party.
Abure, who said he does not believe he will get justice in the Justice Hamza Muazu court, said an appeal court would give the Labour Party and himself justice over the matter, brother, on the leadership crisis of the party.
The embattled LP National Chairman said this to a civil society group and supporter of the Labour Party, Country Director Vote Must International Initiative, Dr Barry Avotu Jonson, who led his members on a solidarity visit to the Labour Party Headquarters, recently.