“They Will Keep Weeping for Themselves” – LP Lawmaker Slams Colleagues Joining APC

The Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, George Ibezimako Ozodinobi, has strongly criticized four Labour Party (LP) lawmakers who recently defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defectors, Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency, Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency), and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency, Edo), cited internal conflicts within the Labour Party as their reason for leaving. Their defection was formally announced during Thursday’s plenary session when Speaker Abbas Tajudeen read their letters.

Reacting on the floor of the House, Ozodinobi expressed disappointment and used a biblical reference to highlight his disapproval. “I will quote the Bible. When Jesus was carrying the cross to Calvary, the woman, Veronica, was weeping. And he looked back and said, ‘Women of Israel, don’t weep for me, weep for yourself.’ I am telling those who have defected that they will continue weeping for themselves because where you have crossed over to, you don’t have a future,” he said.

The Labour Party also condemned the move, describing it as “disappointing” and inconsistent with democratic values. Party spokesperson Obiora Ifoh stated that legal actions have been initiated to challenge the defections.

“Though the Labour Party leadership is undaunted by the defection, it has elected not to allow it slide and has therefore instructed its legal team to commence the legal actions against the defectors and to also commence the process of regaining our mandates in line with the 1999 Constitution and 2022 Electoral Act as amended,” Ifoh said in a statement.