LP Crisis: Arrest Abure now, Otti tells IGP
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
As leadership crisis continues to rip Labour Party (LP) apart, Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has called on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately arrest factional Chairman of the party, Julius Abure.
The Abia Governor equally urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fully implement the Supreme Court judgement which removed Abure as the National Chairman of LP.
Governor Otti made the call on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, while reacting to his purported indefinite suspension by the Abure-led factional executive of the party.
Recall that Abure and his faction had earlier on Wednesday slammed an indefinite suspension on Otti and five other prominent members of the party for alleged anti-party activities.
Suspended alongside Otti were Senator Ireti Kingibe; Senator Darlington Nwokocha; Hon. Victor Afam Ogene; Hon. Amobi Ogah and Hon. Seyi Sowunmi.
“By this suspension, these former members of the party will no longer act for and on behalf of the party. All concerned institutions, including the Nigeria Governors Forum, the National Assembly, INEC and security agencies, among others, are to take note,” the faction’s National Secretary, Umar Farouk, said in a statement he issued in Abuja.
But in a swift reaction, Otti, the only Governor elected on the platform of LP, said Abure was impersonating, describing him and his factional executive as clowns desperately searching for crown they do not deserve.
Otti who spoke through his Special Adviser (Media & Publicity), Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, said: “We call on the Inspector-General of Police to quickly arrest Mr. Abure for impersonation, while INEC should ensure full implementation of the Supreme Court judgement as a way of preserving the integrity of the Supreme Court and protecting our democracy.”
A statement titled “Search of a Crown,” endorsed by Ekeoma and made available to newsmen in Umuahia, reads in part: “The attention of His Excellency, the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has been drawn to the news of his purported suspension alongside other eminent leaders of the Labour Party from the Party by the former National Chairman of the Party, Julius Abure.
“The statement by Abure and his gang of comedians is not only a joke taken too far, but an affront on democracy by a group of inconsequential irritants who are desperate to use Governor Otti’s name to advance their self-serving economic agenda.”
Explaining why Abure and his group lack the power to suspend Otti and the others affected, the statement added: “For the records, the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, has rightly and unambiguously stated that Julius Abure is no longer the National Chairman of Labour Party.
“The judgement which is in agreement with the Constitution of Labour Party, and formed the basis for the setting up of the Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee, stripped Abure of every authority to parade himself as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.”
The statement accused Abure of trying to be smart when he sensed that the party’s hammer may soon fall on him for continuously parading himself as National Chairman of LP and for alleged financial malfeasance.
“Just few hours after being summoned by a Committee Set up by the Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee to come and respond to allegations of gross misconduct bordering on financial misappropriation, impersonation and anti-party activities levelled against him, Abure decided to be smart by half by rushing to the press to announce the purported suspension of Governor Otti and other eminent members of the party,” the Ekeoma noted.
He therefore urged Nigerians to ignore Abure and his co-travellers.
“We enjoin Nigerians to disregard Abure’s laughable statement and continue to see him and his co-conspirators as a group of clowns in desperate search of a crown they do not deserve.”
