The Labour Party has announced that its presidential ticket for the 2027 election is no longer reserved for Peter Obi, its former candidate. This decision was made during the party’s National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja on Monday.
According to the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, “NEC in session also reviewed the decision of the National Convention to reserve its Presidential and Governorship tickets for Peter Gregory Obi and Alex Otti, respectively. Consequently, all party tickets from the Presidency to the House of Assemblies are open to all qualified Nigerians.”
Abure also stated that Governor Alex Otti of Abia State does not have an automatic second-term ticket on the party’s platform. He said, “The seat will be open to other aspirants.”
The chairman criticized Otti for convening a stakeholders’ meeting that produced a caretaker committee led by a former Senator, Nenadi Usman. He said, “The NEC in session noted that the Governor of Abia State, His Excellency Alex Otti, who convened the meeting, did not have the power within the Party’s Constitution as provided in Article 14 (4) (B) gives the power to call meetings only to the National Secretary with the approval of the National Chairman.”
Abure also addressed the issue of governors trying to exert control over the party. He said, “No governor that we gave ticket can harass us out of office; no governor, no matter how highly placed, will come and with a fiat, dissolve the NWC, dissolve state councils, or dissolve LG councils; even a military government would not do that.”
He added, “The mandate given to me and my team as leaders of the Labour Party at the convention of the party held on the 27th day of March 2024, will be defended. We are at a critical moment in the life of our party. Recent events have shown that those who should stand with us in the fight for a better restructured, organized and united party have chosen a different path.”
Abure accused Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti of trying to create a rift within the party. He said, “A path not of unity, but of division. I speak, of course, of the illegal gathering that took place in Abia State, an attempt to create a rift within our party, led by none other than His Excellency Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti. This meeting, held without the authority or consent of the National Executive Council, sought to install a so-called ‘new leadership’.”
He concluded, “Let me be clear: this action was not just illegal. It was a betrayal of everything the Labour Party stands for. A reward for loyalty with ingratitude, a reward for support with insubordination.”
