The leadership of the Labour Party has clarified that the letter sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by a factional group and former members of the party led by Lamidi Apapa to recognise Anderson Uwadiae Asemote and Monday Ojore Mawa as the gubernatorial and deputy governorship candidates did not emanate from it.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the Julius Abure-led party, it said that Nigerians were sufficiently aware that the authors of the letter in circulation were fraudulent and desperate people seeking recognition and working towards obtaining by tricks from unsuspecting Nigerians as they had done in recent elections.
According to Ifoh, “As it is done in every corporate or governmental institutions, letters or any correspondences are received with a stamp of acknowledgement. As it is a custom, if you write any letter to INEC, the commission is expected to receive it after due verification.
“Though acknowledgement of a correspondent does not imply recognition or acceptance of its content, but we however insist that INEC must henceforth verify signatories of any future correspondences as it concerns Labour Party before acknowledgement,” he explained.
He urged Nigerians to recall that on the 22nd of February, two other political parties namely, APC and PDP had their parties’ primaries and that on the following day, Labour Party also had its primaries where it elected Olumide Akpata as its candidate.
These events, it noted, were televised live on notable television stations, and that INEC officials led by the state electoral commissioner also observed the very successful primaries.
Ifoh wondered how a group of persons conducted a primary election that was not known or heard by the public and was not covered by the media, went ahead to ask the INEC to act on their correspondence.
He explained that INEC knew that there was no primary as it did not supervise any other primary, but the one conducted by the party led by Abure.
“INEC knows that they just brought names; there was no primary. We were in Benin that day, and the world knew that Abure had an issue and was released, after which he witnessed the primary.
“How come they did a primary and the media did not know? When and where did they conduct their delegate election? Was it by direct or indirect election? These men are just a bunch of desperate people looking for easy money from desperate politicians.
“There is even a crisis amongst the Apapa camp. Are you aware that Apapa has since left them? He is no longer with them. When did you hear Lamidi Apapa speak about them?
“Are you also aware that the former Youth Leader, Anselm Eragbe, has disclaimed them? In his disclaimer, he said the tenure of Apapa and their group in acting capacity has since elapsed and has not been renewed.
“Eragbe also said that the Apapa-led aggrieved members of the party have only insulted the sensibilities of the party members by the introduction of Anderson Asemote and Monday Mawa to the INEC as the governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the September 21 governorship elections in Edo State.
The letter read: “That the only thing they have done is to further increase our pains, insult our persons and sensibilities by their actions for not deeming it fit and necessary to consult those of us from Edo State and by imposing names for the Edo State Labour Party gubernatorial and deputy governorship candidates without conducting any valid gubernatorial primary in Edo State.”
Labour is thereby urging Nigerians to distance themselves from any other list other than that of Barrister Olumide Akpata as the only candidate being sponsored by the Labour Party.
Chuks Okocha
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