Peter Obi Created Labour Party Crisis – Edo Chairman, Ativie

The Edo State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has accused the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, of being responsible for the leadership crisis rocking the LP nationwide.

State chairman of the party, Hon. Elizabeth Ativie, made the allegation on Monday during a press briefing in Benin City, while reacting to claims against the LP National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, by a party member, Ms. Precious Oruche, popularly known as “Mama P.”

Ativie dismissed Oruche’s allegations that Abure was declared wanted by the police over forgery and accused of frustrating Nigerians, insisting such claims were false and malicious.

The LP chairman argued that the unresolved disputes following the party’s 2023 primaries were a major trigger for the internal wrangling, which she squarely blamed on Obi’s inability to settle aggrieved members.

On the Edo 2024 governorship election, Ativie said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) had agreed to zone the governorship ticket to Edo Central, in line with similar decisions by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, she alleged that Obi disregarded the agreement by endorsing Barrister Olumide Akpata as the LP candidate.

She further accused Obi, alongside Abia State Governor Alex Otti, of convening what she described as an “illegal stakeholders meeting” in Umuahia on September 4, 2024, with the aim of ousting the NWC. According to her, the move left the party factionalised.

Ativie criticized Obi for what she called his “desperation to control the soul of the party,” accusing him of betraying the leadership that stood by him during the 2023 campaign and legal battles.

“Peter Obi has shown that his personal ambition is all that matters to him,” she said. “We want Nigerians to understand that he lacks the competence, character and capacity to actualise the vision of a new Nigeria.”