The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Barrister Julius Abure, has launched a blistering offensive against the newly forming opposition coalition, describing it as a “coalition of looters and plunderers” and its key figures as “failed politicians.”
In a fiercely worded New Year address to the nation on Thursday, Abure positioned the Labour Party as the only genuine alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while vehemently rejecting any alliance with what he called “politicians of convenience.”
The speech is a direct and scathing response to recent reports of a secret power-sharing deal between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, reportedly under the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“Old Wine in a New Bottle”
Abure dismissed the proposed coalition in stark terms. “Nigerians must distance themselves from coalition of failed politicians; men who literally destroyed Nigeria and brought it to its present comatose stage,” he said.
“It is like having an old wine in a new bottle. These characters who have been present since 1999 are still the protagonists of the coalition,” Abure stated, arguing that they were driven not by ideology or love for the masses, but by a desire “to continue to remain in power to loot.”
He asserted that the only coalition Nigerians need is “the coalition with the poor, the market women, civil servants, farmers, students and other proletariats,” claiming that this coalition “is already existing with the Labour Party.”
Personal Attack on Peter Obi
The LP Chairman saved his most personal and venomous critique for Peter Obi, his party’s 2023 flagbearer who recently defected to the ADC. He labeled Obi “a known betrayal, a pretender that can easily go back to his vomit.”
Abure reminded the public that during the 2023 campaign, Obi had described his “new found collaborators” – an apparent reference to Atiku and others – as “irresponsible, fraudulent, rascals and incompetent,” and had specifically called Atiku too old for the presidency.
“Today, he has found nothing wrong to be in a cohort with these men. His later actions have proved Nigerians wrong that he is actually not the character that can lead Nigeria,” Abure declared.
He questioned Obi’s integrity and capacity, stating, “Someone who can, on a stroke when his personal interest is in conflict, betrays everyone who has worked with him; someone who cannot manage a micro organisation of a people, cannot be entrusted with the responsibility of managing a country like Nigeria.”
Labour Party: “On the March Again”
Amidst the attacks, Abure sought to project a image of a resurgent and united Labour Party. He highlighted the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement of April 4, 2025, which affirmed the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms, saying it had “broken the shackles of bondage” that had held the party down.
He listed preparatory steps for the 2027 elections, including successful congresses in most states and the recognition of the party’s candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“We are on the march again,” Abure proclaimed, asserting that the LP’s 2023 success was due to “hard work, strategic application of reasons and structural discipline,” and vowing to replicate it.
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