“Go Ahead and Expose Us,” Usman Tells Abure on Threats Against Obi, Otti

Nenadi Usman, the caretaker committee chairperson of the Labour Party (LP), has challenged Julius Abure, the factional national chairman, to follow through with his threats against Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, and Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State.

Abure had vowed to expose Obi and Otti, stating that when he is done with them they will be regarded like rotten eggs.

However, speaking during an appearance on Channels Television on Monday, Usman dared Abure to carry out his threat.

“Well, I am challenging him to expose us. If you have anybody to expose, you don’t go and talk now, you go and expose them,” she said.

She said the LP has records of Abure’s conduct and that some of his actions are already the subject of police investigations.

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“We have a lot of things about him and that is why the people whom he did it to went to the police.

“The police are investigating him and very soon you will hear about it,” She added.

Usman described the current crisis in the LP as an attack on internal democracy.

“Generally, you would agree with me that every democracy needs to have a vibrant opposition.

“So when the opposition wants to become part of the ruling party, then there’s a problem. And that is where we are today,” she said.

She said Abure’s tenure as LP national chairman had elapsed and that the party had moved to resolve the leadership vacuum in line with the directive of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Usman said, “Principally, the Labour Party leadership at some point had issues with INEC because the tenure of Abure and his NWC had come to an end.

“Which was why when INEC invited leaders of political parties, he attended the meeting and was told to step out with his secretary.”

The LP stalwart recalled that after the INEC incident, Abure went to court and secured a ruling ordering INEC to recognise him.

“We, of course, appealed. Even at the court of appeal, judgment was still given in his favour that INEC should recognise him,” she said.

She said Abure’s name on the INEC website remains listed “by court order”, contrary to the democratic requirement for leaders to emerge through election.

“You would see his name, and you would see ‘by court order. It’s supposed to be by election — people get to be leaders of the party through election, not by court order,” she said.

The former finance minister said the Supreme Court later ruled that the lower courts lacked jurisdiction to declare the Abure chairman.

“We went to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court looked at the issue critically and said the two lower courts didn’t have any jurisdiction.

“They said his tenure was over, he is not the chairman, he’s no longer the chairman of the Labour Party,” she said.

According to her, Justice Inyang Okoro, who read the judgment, cautioned political leaders against holding onto power after their tenure.