The Labour Party in the South-East has said the 2023 presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, will not leave the party like the former Director General of Peter Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation, who tendered a resignation a few days ago.
This followed several issues that surrounded the party after the Supreme Court judgment upheld the election of Bola Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Surprisingly, the resignation of the former DG (Okupe) had raised doubt about Peter Obi’s continued stay in the LP.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the National Vice Chairman, South-East, of the LP, Innocent Okeke, said Obi would not leave the party, adding that Okupe’s political style did not fit LP which was why he quit.
He said, “Peter Obi won’t leave the Labour Party where his political branding has hit the rooftop. He is more known today in the Labour Party than anywhere else. Doyin (Okupe) has to leave because the Labour Party can never accommodate his style of politics. So, he quickly chose the exit door, and some others like him also followed suit.
“Doyin Okupe said he resigned from the Labour Party, citing ideological differences. We should understand that today, the Labour Party is the only political party in Nigeria with a social democratic ideology.”
Okeke noted that apart from Obi not leaving the party, he would be considered as the presidential candidate of the party in the 2027 election.
He said, “2027 is still a long way to go, but if Peter Obi later decides to run for the top Nigerian position come 2027, he will be warmly considered.
“As it stands today, Peter Gregory Obi came to the Labour Party and found out what the Labour Party represents and has the same political philosophy as his. He has helped immensely to develop the Labour Party into the brand it is today.
“I was in a dinner meeting with him recently, and he expressed a strong commitment to developing the Labour Party to assume the strongest opposition political party in Nigeria of today.”
On the call for the merger of political parties to dislodge the APC in 2027, Okeke said the party would not be lured into a coalition, stating that neutral groups or persons could join respectively.
Okeke noted, “There won’t be anything wrong with some people doing political calculations and hoping how to achieve them. So, if some persons are thinking of how to wrestle power come 2027, they are at liberty to do so.
“I assure you that the Labour Party is a brand that cannot be lured into any kind of merger, but our doors are wide open to any person or group of persons who wants to join the Labour Party to achieve their political aims.”
