The Chairman of the Labour Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, Afam Ogene, on Friday blamed mass defections of lawmakers from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the former chairman, Julius Abure’s leadership failure.
Ogene spoke with journalists in Abuja.
He stressed that Abure’s intransigence triggered mass defections to the ruling party.
The Supreme Court last week sacked Abure as the LP national chairman.
At least six federal lawmakers elected on LP’s platform switched to the APC in January over the party’s internal crisis.
Ogene said: “Politicians always plan for the next elections. So with the style of Abure, they thought there was a future for them again in the party.
“Therefore, they have to leave in a hurry. But some of us who believe so much in the rule of law have to stay and contend with Abure for the good of the party.”
The lawmaker, however, said the Labour Party caucus in the House was not diminished despite the defections.
Ogene, who assured of a stronger and better Labour Party, said that Abure’s tenure officially ended in June 2024.
He alleged that the former chairman was selfish in his political pursuit.
This, he said, led Abure into refusing to cede the chairmanship position to the North as planned by the stakeholders.
He assured Nigerians of a revived and formidable Labour Party in the coming months.
The lawmaker affirmed the viability of the Labour Party as an opposition political party, saying that Peter Obi had remained the only formidable opposition voice in the country.
© Ripples Nigeria
