Labour Party blasts Apapa faction over ‘endless’ allegations against Obi

Labour Party (LP) has blasted the Supreme Court sacked faction of the party led by Chief Lamidi Apapa for ‘going about merchandising with the name of the party’ in addition to ‘endlessly castigating’ its presidential candidate in the February 25, 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, over the latter’s recent call to President Bola Tinubu to ‘reintroduce himself to Nigerians’ in the wake of the controversies surrounding his academic records.

Describing the faction’s actions as ‘unbecoming and vexatious,’ the Labour Party singled out those it described as ‘some political hirelings, buccaneers indulging in menial work of character assassination who have lately been let loose dubiously ostensibly to soil the name of our Presidential candidate, Peter Obi.’

The Labour Party listed those at the ‘forefront of these malicious hatchet jobbers, as Dr Abayomi Arabambi, who dubiously continues even to identify himself as a member and Publicity Secretary of Labour Party when he knows he is not a member of the party.’

A statement by the LP signed by the Chief Spokesman Obi-Datti Campaign organisation, Dr Tanko Yunusa, Monday, further dispelled the allegation of impersonation leveled against Obi by the LP faction by stating that ‘Obi’s most senior brother is alive, one of his senior brothers who died was in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN years ahead of Obi and read Computer Science while Obi read Philosophy.’

According to LP, ‘as they go about using the name of the party, none of them has said anything positive about Peter Obi as their Presidential candidate of the party they claim that speaks in volumes.’

“Instead, they have even been more vociferous against Peter Obi than their sponsors yet they claim they are of the Labour Party. Is it not time the media houses blacklist them for wearing the devil’s coat and speaking on the saint’s platform. None of them or their family members voted for Peter Obi. Is it not yet time they leave him alone and look for another thing to say?”

The party, therefore, described its estranged members as ‘somebody hired ostensibly to do a menial job against somebody and after sweeping around the whole place unable to find anything, he decides to indulge in concoctions to keep his pecuniary interest alive.’

It would be recalled that following Mr Obi’s call to President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to ‘reintroduce himself to Nigerians,’ the Supreme Court sacked faction of the opposition party led by Chief Lamidi Apapa had alleged that the party’s presidential candidate’s academic credentials were replete with ‘discrepancy.’

Obi had disclosed this in Abuja during a press conference organised in the wake of the release of the academic records of President Tinubu by the Chicago State University (CSU) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 25, 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, as ordered by a United States court in Illinois.

CSU had formally presented to Atiku’s legal with Tinubu’s academic records following the ruling of a Illinois-based court. Atiku, also a former Vice President of the country, had approached the court requesting it to order the court to release the documents.

The LP candidate insisted that Nigerians deserved to know the true identity of their leader and that this overrides whatever rights the president may have to his privacy, adding that the international community deserved to know the true identity of the president with whom they will engage in Nigeria.

According to Obi, the Chicago State University saga certificate and the lingering identity question marks of the president have worsened the country’s ‘less-than-glorious image internationally. ‘

However, the Publicity Secretary of the sacked LP faction, Mr Abayomi Arabambi, had claimed while featuring as guest on a AIT programme station, last Wednesday, that the credentials submitted to the party by Obi for the 25 February 25, 2023 election, was questionable.

Arabambi who disclosed that he was among the Labour Party officials who screened Obi before the party’s presidential primary, said the name written on the candidate’s academic certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), was different from the name his NYSC certificate bears.

 “I was part of the people who did the screening for him. In the form EC9, we gave him, he wrote that he attended the University of Nigeria Nsukka and he wrote that he finished his youth service but unfortunately, in the final submission of the form he only submitted his school certificate,” he said. Arabambi explained that something was ‘fishy’ because the name Obi’s school sent for mobilisation was not what was written on his NYSC certificate.

Arabambi said he does not understand what the LP presidential candidate wants to achieve with his recent moves and utterances.

“This destination that he is going to, I don’t know what he wants to achieve. We have before the Supreme Court his own petition and the pleadings are not there, you are now calling out someone to come and reveal his true identity.

“For us, we don’t know the true identity of Peter Obi even in the Labour Party because everything was shrouded in secrecy at that time between him and Abure in Asaba,” he said.

“You know we were rushing because we had just a day to do our presidential primary and that was why he was able to get away with it, but we have it on record that Obi’s name on his NYSC certificate and the one on his University of Nigeria, Nsukka certificate are different,” the factional spokesperson said.

It would also recalled that, last Thursday, LP Campaign Director General, Akin Osuntokun, stated that he does not have what to say about Arabambi’s allegations since all details of Obi ‘are out there in the public for verifications.’

“You know the kind of things they say. The man who is saying all these things has no consequence. They are just making a nuisance out of themselves. What do you want me to say to such people?” he said.

He wondered if the statement from Arabambi made any sense.

“People who are not even in the party; where did he screen Peter Obi? Where? When did Peter Obi join the Labour Party and where was he then?” Osuntokun asked.

The full statement from the Labour Party by Dr Yunusa Tanko, Chief Spokesperson for the Obi-Datti Media below:

I have called you this afternoon to bring to your notice some unbecoming and vexatious attitude in the public space that is, unfortunately dragging some media houses along. Some political hirelings, buccaneers indulging in menial work of character assassination have lately been let loose dubiously ostensibly to soil the name of our Presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

At the forefront of these malicious hatchet jobbers, is Dr Abayomi Arabambi, who dubiously continues even to identify himself as a member and Publicity Secretary of Labour Party when he knows he is not a member of the party.

After a series of judgments from the Supreme Court of Nigeria concerning the Labour Party, everything about factionalization and crisis in the party was laid to rest.

But to our greatest shock in the party, many media houses continued to link expelled non-members of the party as members trying unsuccessfully and needlessly to create a wrong impression about the party.

Chief Lamidi Apapa and Arambabi have been going about merchandising with the name of the party and endlessly castigating our flag bearer who we are proud to say is the most popular and loved Nigerian politician today.

Gentlemen of the press, as they go about using the name of the party, none of them has said anything positive about Peter Obi as their Presidential candidate of the party they claim that speaks in volumes.

Instead, they have even been more vociferous against Peter Obi than their sponsors yet they claim they are of the Labour Party. Is it not time the media houses blacklist them for wearing the devil’s coat and speaking on the saint’s platform. None of them or their family members voted for Peter Obi. Is it not yet time they leave him alone and look for another thing to say?

Peter Obi in his capacity as the Labour Party standard bearer, had a press conference and innocuously advised the embattled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rest the certificate gate around him and save the country further embarrassment by reintroducing himself and putting records straight. A simple patriotic advisory that was informed by belief in anything that is connected to National development, but their hirelings, freebooters, and lawless adventurers prefer to insult our candidate with his fabrications.

In one of his pieces of fiction, they claimed that Obi was impersonating his dead most senior brother, a farce, a slapstick comedy from hell. Obi’s most senior brother is alive, one of his senior brothers who died was in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN years ahead of Obi and read Computer SCIENCE while Obi read Philosophy.

Arabambi also claims as his shadow chases him that Obi is after his life. This is a laughable allegation because OBI’s harmless disposition to politics and his non-violent posture even in extreme provocation like the blatant stealing of his mandate in cohort with INEC is apparent to make the dismissal of such wild and unsubstantiated accusation baseless.

Gentlemen of the press, I can appreciate the frustration of somebody hired ostensibly to do a menial job against somebody and after sweeping around the whole place unable to find anything, he decides to indulge in concoctions to keep his pecuniary interest alive.

As Obi keeps charging people to go ahead and verify his past, a Peter Obi 45 years ago was impromptu unveiled last weekend by no less a person than the Pope’s Ambassador (Papal Nuncio) to the Czech Republic, a Nigerian, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo. Speaking off the cuff, the revered clergy testified to how the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has remained consistent in caring for society for many decades now, stating that it is in Peter Obi’s nature to help and care for those around him.