*Says Obi wasting Nigerians’ time
By Michael Paul
The Lamidi Apapa faction of the Labour Party has asked Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the party to withdraw his petition against the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the recently concluded 2023 election.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, Dr Arabambi Abayomi, National Publicity Secretary of the party, accused Peter Obi of deceiving the OBIdients and giving them false hope that they have something at the tribunal.
The spokesman said Obi “is not serious,” adding that he is only “playing to the gallery” and wasting the time of Nigerians.
He said, “Labour Party is thereby calling on him to get step down his selfish ambition and stop messing up the party if he has nothing serious to present to the tribunal. He was the one that said that a mandate was stolen but Obi has not been able to provide any concrete evidence to back this claims because him and his co-travellers had different intention as against the wishes of the Nigerian masses who freely offered their supports to Labour Party.”
He said further, “All of you here who have been following this case can recalled that the day we had altercation in court with Abure’s group, that INEC announced that Peter Obi could not pay for CTC form EC08 and other documents to be for the election. That now compelled them to only present only thirty per cent of the materials they would need for the hearing at Election Petition Tribunal.
“How would any right thinking person go to election tribunal with only thirty per cent of your documents where not of all them would be accepted or agreed to be tendered by other political parties?”
On the fuel subsidy removal, the Labour Party spokesman said the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) cannot call for any strike, saying doing so would about to mischief.
He said the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, who had the backing of the NLC and TUC had publicly supported the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said, “In fact our position about removal of fuel subsidy during all our campaign has not changed. We cannot reverse that position because it was not our candidate that won the presidential election.
“Whatever we have agreed on during our campaign, and as a party that promptes peace, equity and justice in Nigeria, then we can’t be found aprobating and reprobating at the same time. Our Position is that, once Obi has said he would remove fuel subsidy from his first day in office, the same organized labour who stood on that position must not been seen working in cross purpose on the same thing that Tinubu, Atiku and even Obi said they were going to do.
“Obi said Subsidy was an organized crime that must be stopped. NLC can’t call for any strike. If they do, it is obvious that they are just being mischievous for a reason best known to them or maybe they have something against the President that they should come out open to tell Nigerians.”