Abia State Governor Alex Otti has said the Labour Party (LP) remains resilient and influential despite the departure of its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Otti made the assertion on Saturday night while addressing members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at a meeting in Abuja. Obi formally defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on December 31.
While admitting that the party has experienced some setbacks, including the loss of lawmakers and interim national committee members through defections, the governor insisted that LP’s strength has not been diminished.
“We regret the exit of our former leader and presidential candidate. While we regret it, we are working to resolve the problems in the party so that everyone can come together and make the party stronger,” Otti said.
He added that despite recent defections, the party remains solid. “In my opinion, the party should come together and become a stronger force. We have also lost a few members to defection, especially some national assembly members, interim national committee members, but despite that, we are still a very strong force.”
To address lingering internal disagreements, Otti disclosed that the NWC has agreed to constitute a reconciliation committee tasked with reaching out to aggrieved members.
“We need to set up a reconciliation committee. The national working committee advised us on how to set up the committee,” he said.
“The idea is to reconcile everyone who is willing and desires to come back to the party.”
The governor specifically appealed to the faction led by Julius Abure to end hostilities and return to the party.
“I call on Julius Abure and his team to sheathe their swords and come back to the party. Once they are willing to abide by the rules, we will be happy to receive them,” he said.
Otti also announced that the party would organise congresses at ward, local government, state and national levels starting in March, ahead of its national convention.
“The congresses will happen, and the national convention will pave the way for the progress of the party,” he stated.
According to him, another committee has been inaugurated to clean up and validate the party’s membership register, as well as supervise the registration of new members.
On the issue of alliances, Otti ruled out any plan for LP to join a political coalition, describing the party as self-sufficient.
“For now, we have no intention of joining any other coalition. Peter Obi has made a decision to leave the Labour Party to join ADC, and we wish him well,” he said.
The governor also praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for updating its website to recognise the Nenadi Usman-led NWC, describing it as a critical step towards restoring stability within the party.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had last month ruled that the Usman-led national caretaker committee is the authentic leadership of the Labour Party, directing INEC to recognise it. However, the Julius Abure faction has since indicated its intention to challenge the ruling on appeal.
