LP Crisis: Obi, Otti Lack Authority to Convene Stakeholders’ Meeting – Okafor Faction

A faction of the Labour Party (LP) led by Callistus Okafor, the factional national chairman, has challenged the authority of Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor, and Alex Otti, the current governor of Abia State, to convene a stakeholders’ meeting on behalf of the party.

This dispute emerged after Governor Otti announced a Labour Party National Executive Council (NEC) stakeholders’ meeting set to take place on September 4 at the Abia Government House in Umuahia. The announcement followed an advisory from Julius Abure, the party’s national chairman, urging Otti to focus on governance and refrain from interfering in party matters. Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, along with his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, are expected to attend this upcoming meeting.

In response to the announcement, Okafor criticized Abure’s recent convening of a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting, claiming it was illegitimate due to Abure’s tenure having expired on June 9, 2024. Okafor emphasized that any actions taken by Abure post-expiration are illegal, arguing that any NEC meeting called outside the framework of a 2018 consent judgment is “null and void.”

The 2018 consent judgment, delivered by Abuja Federal High Court Judge Gabriel Kolawole, required an “inclusive” national convention following a leadership crisis within the party. Okafor, who served as deputy chair (South) to the late Abdulkadir Salam, the former LP chairman, maintains that he is the legitimate beneficiary of this judgment.

In his statement, Okafor accused Otti and Obi of attempting to “hijack” the Labour Party’s machinery for personal gain, with a particular focus on Obi’s alleged plans for a party merger. He declared that the faction he leads would resist any efforts to use the party for selfish purposes.

“It is a well-known fact that the illegal tenure of Julius Abure ended on June 27, 2024,” Okafor asserted, labeling Abure’s continued claim to the chairmanship as “criminal deception.”

Furthermore, Okafor cited the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) rejection of the 2014 Nnewi convention as evidence of its illegitimacy, thereby invalidating any outcomes of that convention. He also pledged to reconcile aggrieved members and hold inclusive congresses and a national convention to unify the Labour Party.