Discountenance letters seeking withdrawal of our petitions, Labour Party tells tribunals

The Labor Party (LP) has asked all election petition tribunals to set aside letters from suspended National Legal Adviser Samuel Akingbade, withdrawing all party petitions.

The Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, on Tuesday in Abuja stated that the presidential election petition should have specifically rejected the letter by the court.

He called on the police, the State Security Service (SSS) and anti-graft agencies to quickly apprehend and interrogate the former party officers involved in the letter before they succeed in inflaming the nation.

“The National Vice President of the party, Mr. Lamidi Apapa, LP has approached all electoral tribunals with pending matters, including those of our presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, seeking the withdrawal of cases.

“We hereby inform all arms of the Judiciary, including courts and tribunals, to ignore the evil antics of these compromised and suspended party members.

“Every day, Mr. Apapa continues to expose the nefarious intentions of the fugitive Labor party led by the suspended National Vice President.

“As early as Tuesday morning, our legal team was faced with the harsh revelation that these men have advanced their plots by approaching the courts where our candidates filed applications to stay the cases,” Mr. Ifoh stated.

He added that the plan was to thwart the Labor Party’s victory in the courts and to thwart the country’s nascent democracy.

He listed some of the suspended party members including Mr. Akingbade, Mr. Gbenga Daramola, Mr. Anselem Eragbe and Mr. Abayomi Arabambi.

They were National Legal Adviser, National Finance Secretary, National Youth Leader and National Publicity Secretary, respectively.

Mr. Ifoh recalled swimming through the murky waters of conspiracy, betrayal and sabotage orchestrated by former Labor Party leadership officers.

Also, the party has long suspected that moles were planted to sabotage efforts to provide Nigerians with an alternative government.

“The desperation of the moles to meet their wages is beginning to threaten the peace and democracy of the nation.

“Approaching the courts to withdraw all cases filed by Labor Party candidates is the biggest subterfuge and treason, and Nigerians will resist this ploy to plunge the nation into unnecessary turmoil.

“Their actions show that they are working against the party to destroy it.

“If they claim to have problems with the party’s national leadership, will they also say they have a problem with the party’s candidates?

“What crime have the party’s candidates committed that they are now moving to get their issues out of the courts,” he asked.

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Mr. Ifoh stated that he was appointed the national publicity secretary of the party at a meeting in Asaba because of the vacuum created by the expulsion of the former publicity secretary.

“All the relevant government agencies, including the National Executive Council of the party, were there unanimously where I was appointed,” he stressed.

Mr. Obi, the LP presidential candidate in the February 25 election is challenging the declaration of APC’s Bola Tinubu as the winner of the election by INEC.

A crisis erupted in the party after the poll which led to its factionalisation. While the faction recognized by INEC is headed by Julius Abure, the other is Mr. Apapa, the suspended National Vice President.

The crisis escalated on Tuesday when the fledgling party asked the courts to withdraw the petitions of the party’s candidates in the last election.

It is not clear whether the courts have responded to the request.

(IN)