Obiora Ifoh, the spokesperson for the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP), in an interview on Sunday, defended the criticism by the party of its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The statement came after Obi’s defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on New Year’s Eve, which the Labour Party leadership termed as “liberation” for the party.
Obiora Ifoh, representing the LP’s National Working Committee, accused the former Anambra Governor of abandoning democratic principles by attempting to remove the party’s executive leadership before the end of their tenure.
According to Ifoh, Obi’s collaboration with the Abia State Governor and certain National Assembly members to install a caretaker committee, was a point of departure for the party.
Ifoh debunked claims that the fallout was over financial settlement, stressing that Obi provided not even a bicycle to the central structure of the party, during the 2023 campaign, but instead he managed all funds independently through private support groups.
Obi became anti-democratic in the sense that he wanted us to follow routes that are not democratic at all. He mobilised some members… to remove us by all means. Everything that was supposed to get to the party, he didn’t give us. He didn’t even donate a bicycle, not a single car. We were not interested in all those things; we wanted a Nigeria that would be good for everyone – Obiora Ifoh
The LP spokesperson claimed the party is now liberated from the internal friction caused by the Obidient movement, a group he described as loyal to an individual rather than the institutional ideology of the party.
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