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| Peter Obi, Lamidi Apapa, and Julius Abure |
The Labour Party faction led by Lamidi Apapa has accepted the presidential election tribunal's decision, which confirmed President Bola Tinubu's victory in the February 25 election. Mr Apapa defended the verdict and accused Peter Obi of squandering $15 million and N12 billion.
The claims were made public by the Apapa-led faction's spokesman, Abayomi Arabambi, in a statement. However, the party's Julius Abure faction refused to reply to allegations that Mr Obi syphoned campaign money.
"Some of us have been saying that Peter Obi decided to go to the tribunal to justify all the money he collected during the campaign. All that money was corruptly siphoned,” the Labour Party faction stated. “Thus, our previous position has now been confirmed that Peter Obi was just all out to defraud our party of donations made towards 2023 general election which was in a scary sum of $15 million and N12 billion that Peter Obi deliberate (sic) used for (sic) cure Abure poverty lineage and help other Julius Abure IPOB irresponsible ethnic irredeemable irredentist supporters to have a lifeline.”
The Labour Party faction claimed, “Peter Obi fraudulently converted all monies due to our agents across the country and they all refuse to represent the party at all pooling units.”
However, the Abure faction of the Labour Party’s spokesman, Obiora Ifoh, told Peoples Gazette Thursday, “We can’t be trading words with someone who has been expelled from the party and has no locus standi to claim that he’s the chairman of Labour Party.”
Mr Ifoh added, “The man (Apapa) is an imposter, not a member of the party. How could you even give him an audience? I can’t respond to what an imposter is saying. He’s an unknown quantity. He’s not known by law, INEC or the Labour Party.”
Tanko Yunusa, the spokesman for the Peter Obi-Yusuf Datti Presidential Campaign, told The Gazette that the “fact is that we don’t have a faction.”
“We can’t be responding to people who we’re not in the line of argument with. That’s why most of us don’t want to respond to this particular allegation that doesn’t have any locus standi,” Mr Yunusa explained.
He added, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s where we’ll remain on this particular matter. They’re just creating issues out of nothing and seeking attention. If they like, they should go and take us to court on that matter.”
(People Gazette)