The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has publicly challenged Peter Obi and other former presidential aspirants of the party to provide proof of any funds allegedly given to him or the party during the 2023 general elections.
Julius Abure declared that he has endured falsehoods in silence for too long and will no longer allow Peter Obi and his faction to tarnish his reputation with unfounded claims.
He accused Obi’s camp of spreading damaging lies, insisting that his prolonged restraint should not be mistaken for weakness.
In a video aired by Symfoni on yesterday, Abure insisted that he had not received any financial contributions from candidates, including Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential flag bearer, for personal gain.
Abure had during the interview warned that if he is pushed to the extent, he would “expose Obi and his faction, leaving them to reek like rotten eggs.”
While addressing some party members in the FTC, Abure said: “I want to challenge all of them. I was watching television and I saw some of them talking about corruption. Today, I want to challenge all of them—from Peter Obi down that contested the election. Let any of them come out and tell the world what they personally gave to me or to the party.
“It is not to go and hide and be saying there is corruption in the party. Who and who are those that brought the money? Who did they give it to? Where did they send it to? I challenge them today that any of them that has evidence, even if they don’t have evidence, let them be bold and come out and say when and how they gave the money and if they can’t do that, let them forever hold their peace.”
The Labour Party chairman suggested he may call a worldwide press conference to directly challenge the accusations against him, admitting he had maintained a prolonged silence out of respect and in hopes of reconciliation.
“I’m going to call a world press conference and publicly challenge them. As a leader, we have been quiet to say probably they are making mistakes, one day, probably they will come back. When people were talking about agents, and money for agents, I kept quiet, I didn’t say anything because I believe that the bad, the good and the ugly are for me. And therefore, I should not throw away the bad child or the ugly child.
“When I saw that some people were going beyond their boundaries, I came out and released a periphery of what played out. And I am sure that by now, that house is no longer together as it is. I am waiting for them from top to bottom to make any other move and I will open my mouth and when I open my mouth, wherever they go to, they will be like smelly egg, rotten egg that nobody will ever buy.”
Lashing out at Abia State Governor Alex Otti, the party’s sole governor, Abure said, “Look at the governor that is jumping like cricket from one point to another point, we didn’t collect a dime from him. If he paid anybody any dime, let him come and say so. We believed that we wanted to make a difference in politics and so we allowed everyone.
“When I met him at Transcorp, he asked me, ‘Chairman, what do I do for you?’ I said, ‘Nothing. Put your money together and use it for the election.’
“We supported them but today the party has no N1,000 from any of them, not from the governor elected that we have suspended now or from the senators and the House of Reps members, apart from some them.”
Abure’s comments come amid mounting internal conflicts and allegations of corruption within the Labour Party. The party chairman dismissed the claims, insisting that the leadership rejected billions of naira in bribes and resisted political pressures during and after the elections.
“We turned down offers because of the positions they held. But today, they are at the forefront of those trying to throw us out of office,” he said.
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