Court Sentences LP Candidate to Seven Years Imprisonment 

An Enugu South Magistrate Court presided over by Justice E D Onwu, has sentenced the Labour Party candidate for Enugu South Urban state Constituency, Hon Bright Ngene, to 7 years’ imprisonment. The Magistrate, who handed the verdict on Friday had on Thursday, said that he was under instruction to deal with a matter involving the LP candidate who won the Enugu South Urban state Constituency, during the March 18, 2023, general elections. Ngene and two others were arraigned in court since 2017 by the Nigeria Police Force, Enugu command in a matter involving himself and his community worth about N15million. After he won the 2023 general elections against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, who also challenged the victory of Ngene and sought for the election to be declared inconclusive, which the election petition tribunal agreed and ordered rerun election in eight polling units, the ruling government resurrected the matter involving his community development fund. The matter was abandoned since 2017 when he was lawyer for his community, Akwuke, Enugu State. SaharaReporters reported on June 25, that Bright Ngene had raised the alarm over an alleged conspiracy between the executive and judiciary arms of the state government to imprison him.  Ngene, who spoke to journalists in Enugu, had claimed that the plot was aimed at punishing him for insisting on the mandate he won in the March 18, 2023 House of Assembly Election.  He had noted that the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice A. R Ozoemena, the Deputy Chief Registrar, Chijioke Agbo, and Magistrate E. D Onwu colluded to disregard the petition pending before the National Judicial Council which seized the case.  Ngene is seeking for an urgent intervention to prevent what he sees as a gross miscarriage of justice aimed at terminating his political and legal careers. Ngene of the Labour Party was declared the winner of last year’s Enugu South Rural Constituency election and was sworn into the House of Assembly but was aborted by the court in a petition by his rival, Sam Ngene of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.   Re-run elections for the disputed eight polling units in the Constituency have been held twice but were inconclusive, while the scheduled third-time re-run of June 8 was cancelled without notice to the LP candidate. In his petition to the NJC, Ngene alleged that “there is corruptive agreement between the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State, His Lordship A. R Ozoemena, the Deputy Chief Registrar N.L Chijioke Agbo, His Worship E. D Onwu, Esq and the Enugu State government to at all cost or willy nilly put me behind bars before a re-run is conducted over my seat in the Enugu State House of Assembly. “Otherwise, why are these parties applying impunity in continuing with the trial when the NJC has accepted custody of the matter? The ideal thing is that parties in this matter should relax for NJC to decide but they are rushing the matter to put me behind bars and go ahead to conduct the re-run election. “I seek the NJC to save me from oppression, persecution, and impeding wrongful conviction bathed by corruption and obvious abuse of judicial office and power. “Unless the National Judicial Council intervenes, the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State, the Deputy Chief Registrar, and His Worship E. D Onwu will wrongfully and corruptly destroy my ambition to continue to be in the House of Assembly of Enugu State and dent my political and legal career with conviction,” Ngene petitioned. But when the matter came up for adoption of written addresses, on Thursday, there was an uproar in court room as three lawyers fought fruitlessly to dissuade the magistrate to give a long adjournment date in a matter against Ngene and two others. While the defence counsels, Messrs CJ S Okereke, Benjamin C. Nwobodo and Frabel Awgu asked the trial Magistrate to adjourn the matter till next week to enable them study and reply to application filed by the prosecuting counsel, His Worship E D Ownu insisted that c

NLC Committee Storms Headquarters, Demands Abure’s Resignation

Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress national transition committee, on Tuesday, stormed the headquarters of the Labour Party in Abuja, demanding the immediate resignation of the National Chairman, Julius Abure. The Acting Chairman of the transition committee, Aduwaheed Omar, led members of the labour union to the secretariat, chanting solidarity songs and calling for the resignation of Abure on grounds that his tenure as the chairman of the party had expired. Our correspondent at the scene of the protest noted, that when the officials arrived at the Party’s headquarters, the gates were immediately shut by security officials. However, in an attempt to force their way into the premises, the police fired teargas to dispatch the protesters. Protesters were later heard shouting endlessly at the security men to “open the gate”.

Labour Party Renames ‘Obidient’ Directorate After Backlash, Announces Inauguration Date

The Labour Party (LP) leadership has renamed the ‘Obidient’ directorate, following the backlash it received over the naming and composition of the directorate’s leadership structure. Recall that over 200 support groups, which comprise the ‘Obidient Movement’, had denounced the LP leadership for setting up the directorate and naming some persons as directors. In a statement dissociating themselves from the new directorate, the support groups accused the National Working Committee (NWC) of the LP, under the leadership of Comrade Julius Abure, of trying to use the directorate to strip the movement of its independence. In response to the controversy, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, in a terse statement on Thursday in Abuja, announced the party’s decision to rename the directorate. According to Ifoh, the Obidient Directorate will now be known and referred to as the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration. He added that the inauguration will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at the National Secretariat in Abuja. He said, “Following the controversies arising from the creation of the Directorate of OBIDIENT Affairs, in the party, the Directorate is hereby renamed the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration. “The inauguration will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at the party’s National Secretariat, Utako, Abuja, by 10 a.m. Party members and the general public should take note.”

2027: PDP Speaks On Peter Obi, Atiku Alliance 

The Peoples Democratic Party has revealed that it is not engaged in any merger, fusion or amalgamation talks with any other political party or interest. Recall that 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi visited some PDP bigwigs including Atiku Abubakar in Abuja. The visit had sparked rumours of a proposed merger ahead of the 2027 election. But during its 587th meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party said the party is open and welcoming to all Nigerians including our former members who left for other parties. Debo Ologunagba National Publicity Secretary of the party in a statement said: “Our Party remains strong and formidable, capable of winning elections in a free,fair and transparent electoral process in our country. “The NWC acknowledges the influx of millions of Nigerians into our Party in the on-going Party Membership Drive in all the Electoral Wards across the country; which further confirms that the PDP remains the Party of choice for majority of Nigerians.  “The public, teeming members of our great Party, Democracy Institutions and of course the International Community should therefore disregard any report suggesting any form of merger between the PDP and any other political Party as such is not in the contemplation of our great Party”.

Police Invite Edo Labour Party’s Guber Candidate, Akpata Over UNIBEN Assault Incident

The Edo State Police Command has summoned the Labour Party’s governorship candidate, Olumide Akpata, to discuss alleged security breaches, particularly the incidents of gunfire reported at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) last Friday. The Public Relations Officer for the Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, disclosed this development to the media in Benin City. Nwabuzor stated that the LP gubernatorial candidate was served the invitation by investigators during the Political Desk Session at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Recall that during an investiture ceremony hosted by the UNIBEN Staff Club, the candidate of the Labour Party for the forthcoming September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State was allegedly assaulted by suspected political thugs. Olumide Akpata, on the other hand, has claimed that the attack was orchestrated by both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and the State Government to assassinate him. The Command’s spokesperson elaborated that the invitation extended to Olumide Akpata was a component of the investigation launched by the police Command into the crisis. In response to inquiries, the State Chairman of the Labour Party, Kelly Ogbaloi, verified the reception of the police invitation, mentioning his absence in Benin during the letter’s arrival, but he affirmed his intention to honour the invitation. “The police ought to have done their background investigations, his being honoured by UNIBEN had nothing to do with our party secretariat. So, I don’t know why I am being asked to come along with him to the Police Command Headquarters in Benin, however, I will honour the invitation,” he said.

LP crisis: I didn’t promise to build new party – Peter Obi on ignoring national convention

The 2023 Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, has said he promised to rebuild Nigeria and not to build a new party. Obi made the remark while disclosing why he ignored the LP’s National convention in Anambra State. Addressing Nigerians on X Space hosted by Parallel Facts on Friday, Peter Obi said he ignored the convention because the party leadership under Julius Abure failed to conduct wide consultation with key stakeholders of the party before embarking on the said convention. He stressed the need for the right thing to be done to salvage the party, adding that he is more passionate about building a new Nigeria than building a new Labour Party. “We promised to build Nigeria, we did not promise to build a New Labour Party,” Obi said. He also threw his weight behind the call for a structure for the ‘Obidient’ movement. “It is the standard practice around the world where movements form themselves into blocs and are part of the political process,” he added. Two factional groups respectively led by Julius Abure and Apapa Lamidi have been claiming supremacy. Also, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, is against Abure’s leadership of the party However, Abure was reelected during the controversial national convention organized in Anambra State.

Labour Party state chairmen speak on suspending Peter Obi 

The Labour Party’s 36 State Chairmen, along with the Federal Capital Territory, have denied rumors of a plot to suspend their leader and 2023 Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi. Dismissing allegations against Party Chairman Julius Abure as the work of detractors, the chairmen expressed satisfaction with the day-to-day management of party affairs.  They clarified during a solidarity visit that the party has not considered suspending Peter Obi, reaffirming his leadership and commitment to addressing the nation’s challenges.  The chairmen also dispelled claims of financial impropriety, emphasizing transparency in party fund management and denouncing unrecognized individuals falsely claiming to be party officials.  They reiterated confidence in Abure’s leadership and passed a unanimous vote of confidence in the National Chairman and his executive. Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Chairman of the Council of State Chairmen of the party, Ceekay Igara said; “We want to use this opportunity to debunk the allegation that the Labour Party is planning to suspend our National Leader, Peter Obi. “Our party is under the worst siege ever, including unleashing fierce propaganda against the party. “The party has not at any time contemplated a suspension of our leader. He remains our leader and will continue to lead the party in our avowed determination to pull this nation out from the strangulation under this present government.” “We are also using this opportunity to beg our media friends to cease on going media trial against our party and its leaders. What you are witnessing now is orchestrated and will fizzle out very soon.”, he said.

Tribunal affirms election of Edo LP Rep

The National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin on Thursday affirmed the election of Mr Omoruyi Osaro of the Labour Party (LP) for the Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency of Edo. In a unanimous Judgement by the three-member panel, led by Justice O. A. Chijioke, the tribunal dismissed the petitions of the candidates of the PDP, Mr Okhuarobo Henry and that of APC Mr Crosby Eribo for lack of merits The tribunal held that the two petitioners could not prove a case of non-compliance with the electoral act, corrupt practices and non-qualification allegations against the LP candidate in the election. Delivering the judgement, Justice O.A. Chijioke held that the petitioners failed to prove their cases, and thereby dismissed the petitions for lack of merit. “We hold that the petitioners failed to prove any of the grounds raised in the petitions and the petitions are hereby dismissed for lack of merits, ‘’ he said. The petitioners, Henry and Eribo had approached the tribunal to challenge the election of Osaro on the grounds that he was not qualified to contest for the election. They claimed non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 in the conduct of the election, as well as Osaro’s dual nationality adding that the LP could not have had a candidate in the said election. However, the Justice Chijioke led election panel resolved all the grounds and averred that the petitioners merely dumped documents on the tribunal without any probative value. Eribo had alleged that the LP candidate was a citizen of the U.S and his standing for election negated Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022 as well as Section 66 of the Constitution of Nigeria. He also contended that Osaro was not validly nominated by the LP for the election, which by inference meant that the LP had no candidate in the election.