Politics
BREAKING: Labour Party sacks Arabambi, National Publicity Secretary
The Labour Party (LP) has finally wielded the big stick with the sack of its acting National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, less than 24 hours after he took on the Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, accusing him of cheating party members over the 2023 general elections.
In a quick riposte on Friday, the party, said it reached the decision to offload the erstwhile spokesman after a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC), which also dissolved the executives of the Ogun State chapter of the party.
A fortnight ago, Arabambi and members of the Ogun leadership, had announced the expulsion of Doyin Okupe, the Director General of the LP Presidential Campaign Council (LP-PCC), also claiming the party boss mismanaged party funds voted for its presidential campaign in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The party explained on Friday that the axe finally fell on him alongside the Ogun executives as a result of their involvement in anti-party activities, a move, which seemed to have widened the crisis in the party, coming just about two months into the February 25 presidential election.
On Thursday, Arabambi had accused Abure of obtaining money under pretence and defrauding candidates and aspirants who obtained nomination forms to contest under the party, in a petition by his lawyer to the LP leadership.
Stating that the party boss abused and used his office to corruptly enrich himself by obtaining money under false pretence from candidates, saying the alleged victims, had inundated his office with inquiries over their fate in the hand of the party chairman.
The petition read: “We write this petition against the National Chairman over the allegation of obtaining money under pretence and defrauding of candidates and aspirants who obtained nomination forms to contest under our great Party. The office of our client has been inundated with complaints and reports from candidates of the Party who claimed that they have been defrauded by the National Chairman. The complainants informed our client that they are ready to come forward and give evidence with documentary proof.
“One of the candidates, Hon. George Gabriel Chiadikaobi whose name was submitted to INEC as the Party candidate for Lagos West Senatorial District informed our client that on 22nd day of August 2022 paid the sum of N2.5m to Labour Party account number 1021575052 domiciled with UBA for nominations into Senate Lagos West through Sunday Ajayi
“Also Umeadi Emmanuel Azubike whose name was submitted to INEC as the party candidate for House of Representatives Amuwo Odolin Federal Constituency Lagos State informed our Client that on the 20th day of July, 2022 paid the sum of N3,000,000,00 and also another paid N1,000,000.00 only on the 16th day of August, 2022 to the Lagos State, Labour Party Account Number: 11224871298 domiciled with Zenith Bank. Also at various times, over N27,000,000 have been paid to Barr. Julius Abure through other members of the party including Comrade Joseph Ndirang and others that will form the witness team against him.
“Despite all the intrigues and delay that he claimed his nominations suffer, he met with the National Chairman Bar Julius Abure in Abuja who directed the National Publicity Secretary, our client to effect immediately the name of our candidates in the list of substitution submitted to INEC.
“Hon. George reported to our client that he was asked by National Chairman not to deposit the balance of N2.5m meant for the Party nomination forms into Party official Account (UBA Account) but rather to pay the money into the National Chairman’s transport business account number 0821137431, Account Name: EVER READY TRANSPORT SERVICES LTD Domiciled with Access Bank which he did.
“It was after the above payment into the National Chairman’s personal account contrary to the Party’s Constitution that he instructed the National Legal Adviser to commence a fresh action at the Federal High Court Lagos where Hon. George was listed as the candidate for Lagos West Senatorial District.
“Hon. George later informed me that to his surprise, the National Chairman wrote a letter that the matter currently ongoing in the Federal High Court, Lagos be withdrawn and discontinued which will ultimately jeopardize the listing of his name as the Lagos West Senatorial candidate.
“Other candidates of our Party whose names were submitted for the Federal House of Representatives from various Federal Constituencies in Lagos also made similar allegations and reported to me that they have paid various sums meant for the Party into the personal accounts of the National Chairman based on his instructions.
“Our Client has also paid several Millions of Naira to the National Chairman which we have the evidence of transfer. There is no doubt that the National Chairman Bar Julius Abure has abused his office and used his office to corruptly enrich himself by obtaining money under false pretence from the candidates of our Party. These complainants are ready to provide evidence of those payments when the need arises.
“This development has brought shame to the Party and is the major reason for the ongoing internal crisis currently facing the Party in Lagos State. As the National Publicity Secretary and Image maker of the Party, our client owes it to the great Party as a duty to report this allegation as it is capable of imploding the party and distracting our focus from the 2023 general election unless it is investigated and resolved immediately. We want you to use your good office to investigate this fraudulent action against Bar Julius Abure for the interest of our great Party. Our client is available to provide further details on this.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
For Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s 14th leader, and the third President since 1999, the road is now clear, should he be interested to make a comeback to reclaim the office he lost to the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
This is on the strength of a decision by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which hours ago, threw out a suit challenging the eligibility of the former President to make a go at the nation’s number one job, including that of 2027.
Peter Lifu, on Tuesday, held that JohnMary Jideobi, the plaintiff, who pursued the case of stopping the ex-President, lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having not suffered any loss from Jonathan’s perceived intention to vie in next year’s poll.
(AGF).
Lifu not only dismissed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, where Jideobi had prayed the court for an order restraining Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, but slammed him with a N20 million fine to be paid in favour of the ex-president, and N1million fine against in favour of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
Against the backdrop of Jideobi’s argument was that Jonathan, having completed the tenure of the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later served a full term after the 2011 elections, he had exhausted the constitutional limit of two terms in office, Lifu described it as a waste of time.
He also dismissed the plea that the court should restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate in the 2027 elections or any future presidential poll, insisting that the matter had earlier been litigated upon with a judicial pronouncement made on it.
Referring to the decision of a Federal High Court, Yenagoa which had previously dealt with a similar matter and the concurrence of the Court of Appeal, affirming Jonathan’s eligibility, Lifu, who earlier refused to recuse himself from the matter, said he was bound by both, dismissed the latest attempt as “an abuse of court process.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, virtually poured cold water on the burning issue of Goodluck Jonathan, for Nigerian President making a bid for the office he lost in 2915 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, through the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obi, who is also making another bid for the same office for the second time, told reporters on Tuesday, shortly getting a letter of clearance from the Nigerian Democratic Congress though he was not aware that the former President was contesting, he was in no position to obstruct the move as political choices were the rights of individuals to make.
Against the revelation by Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State, who spoke on behalf of Nemadi Sambo, Jonathan’s Vice President and currently in charge of the presidential screening of the Peoples Democratic Party, Obi told the reporters at the NDC National Secretariat in Abuja: “Actually, I’m not aware of that. But democracy is about people offering themselves for service and being voted for.
“I’m not in any way going around looking for who and who is contesting. I’m concentrating on how to build a better Nigeria.”
But he was quick to marshal out his plans for the country, declaring that under his presidency, Nigerians would be freed from daily lamentations coming from the parlous situation the present government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Bola Tinubu had plunged the country.
Hear him: “This I will do by first uniting the country because it’s not a united country. We have to govern the country by the Constitution of Nigeria, which stipulates federal character and inclusivity. The country must be united. The country must be secure.
“We want to see mothers no longer fear when their children go to school or work. We also want a country where we can travel all over Nigeria without fear. So many Nigerians today go to bed not knowing where the next meal will come from tomorrow. That must change.
“We must live in a country where people do not turn public assets and public wealth into private assets. So we must fight corruption to a standstill and make it work for everybody. Politicians are preoccupied with the next election when Nigerians are dying. That must stop.”
He also took time to explain the reason for the two-hour stretch of drilling during the screening. Saying: “This is democracy in action because NDC chooses to do things properly. So when we say this is going to be screening, it has to be done right.
“Nigerians want to know whether you meet the stipulated constitutional qualification and provide relevant documents to back them.
“This is the way to know whether everything you have said or declared is the truth and if you can answer questions posed about your commitment to building a united, secure and prosperous Nigeria. That’s why the screening took over two hours.”
Regarding his status as a sole candidate, Obi, who was accompanied by Victor Umeh, a long time ally and Senator representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, said: “I don’t know who else has bought. So until the party says I’m the only one who expressed interest, that’s it.”
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