The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, said he has no interest in the Edo State governorship race.
Abure stated this in an interview on Arise Television on Thursday.
He said, “I’m not interested in the gubernatorial race; I feel that the process must be open, transparent, and competitive.
“I have fought over the years that we have had leadership failures in the country because other political parties that produced leaders have lacked internal party democracy, and therefore the best cannot come out of the parties.
“Now that I have the opportunity in Edo, I will work with the National Working Committee (NWC) to ensure that the process is free, fair, and credible.
“I have the responsibility to ensure the party gets the best candidate for the people of Edo State. Once again, I have no interest in becoming the gubernatorial candidate in the state.”
Meanwhile, on the suspension of the party’s National Treasurer, Oluchi Okpara, for unsubstantiated allegations of financial impropriety against Abure, the party chairman stated that the issue in the party was caused by external persons outside the party in a bid to ensure no credible opposition in the country.
He stated, “If you follow activities closely, you will understand that the party came under heavy attacks after the 2023 general elections, to destroy the foundations so that there won’t be credible opposition in the country.
“It is obvious that a lot of people are being used to disrupt and cause chaos at the party.”
Her suspension came barely 24 hours after the party announced the constitution of a disciplinary panel to investigate her demand that Abure be made to account for N3.5bn in the proceeds of the sale of forms and revenue generated from other sources during the 2023 general elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora, who announced the decision of the NWC at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, accused the Treasurer of playing out the script of disgruntled former party members.
He said, “At the meeting held Tuesday evening, February 13, 2024, in Abuja, in the exercise of its powers as contained in the Party’s Constitution with the intention of a fair hearing, the NWC extended an invitation to the National Treasurer to appear before it on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, by 10 a.m. (12 hours) to discuss the recent development.
“The party regrets that the National Treasurer shunned the invitation by the disciplinary committee to clear herself and her actions.
“We see this as an affront to the party leadership and millions of our members who are watching how their party’s image, which they have laboured hard to build, is trolled by one ingrate.”
