On Monday, a faction of the Labour Party that is led by Lamidi Apapa extended their congratulations to President Bola Tinubu for maintaining June 12 as Democracy Day. This was done in recognition of the democratic sacrifice that the late Chief MKO Abiola made.
This was despite the fact that the faction had praised the Directorate of State Service for pursuing legal action against the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, not long after the president had suspended him from his position.
In a statement that was distributed by the faction’s spokesman, Dr. Abayomi Arabambi, a call was made to the people of Nigeria to keep supporting the positive intentions of the Federal Government and also to give criticism where it was warranted.
He said, “We congratulate Nigerians for witnessing the first democracy day under the current administration of President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. This day marks a significant milestone for the country.” We applaud your steadfastness and dedication to preserving our democracy along the lines of religion, economics, and politics, and we thank you for your leadership in this matter. The Labour Party supports the numerous ongoing reforms that are taking place across the nation, including the proclamation of June 12 as a National Holiday as well as a great number of other reforms.
The slogan that Chief MKO ABIOLA used to use was “Hope 93,” and now we have “A renewed Hope 2023.” Despite the fact that both candidates ran on Muslim-Muslim ticket platforms, what set them apart from one another was not their religious affiliation but rather their enthusiasm and dedication to building a better Nigeria, something that has nothing to do with their religious beliefs. We appealed to the general populace to maintain their support for the government’s positive goals while at the same time exercising their constitutional right to criticise it when appropriate.
In continuation, Arabambi gave a sour expression when he thought about the recent criticism levelled at the executives led by Julius Abure for their criticism of the president regarding the suspension of the CBN governor.
As a means of justification for their actions, the LP faction stated that any government official who abuses his office in the same way that Emefiele did by running for the seat of the president and inflicting hardship on Nigeria through his ill-timed new Naira redesign policy should be made to face the full wrath of the law. This was said in the context of the LP faction’s justification for their actions.
Read Also: Elections: Those who cannot bear defeat do not deserve joy of victory – Tinubu
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement that is credited to the Peter Obi-Abure-led faction of the Labour Party Spokesperson, Obiorah Ifoh. In it, he irresponsibly claimed that the suspension approved by the president is unconstitutional, vindictive, and not in good taste. Peter Obi’s camp even went so far as to accuse the newly appointed Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, of being a part of the conspiracy because he remained silent after joining the government. This accusation was based on deliberate lies and willful ignorance.
“We were all living witnesses to the tribulations that Nigerians went through as a result of the various anti-masses policies that were rolled out to Nigerians by the embattled CBN Governor, and as a responsible Party, we will not just sit down and condemn a lawful inquiry into the years of the inglorious and corrupt reign of Emefiele. Instead, we have called on the relevant security agencies to properly look into the actions and deeds of the former governor. It is public knowledge that Peter Obi and Julius Abure unlawfully appropriated to themselves an illegal labour party campaign fund to the tune of N12 billion and $15 million. This was a fund that Obi and Abure had access to during the disgraceful days of the grossly incompetent stints of the suspended CBN Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele. These stints were marked by the deliberate infliction of pain and agony on the majority of Nigerians.
“The Obiorah statements are laced with tribalism, egocentrism, and nepotism, and what this tells us is that all of the rumours that Emefiele was part of those that sponsored the Presidential bid of Peter Obi may be true after all,” Obiorah is quoted as saying. “The Obiorah statements are laced with tribalism, egocentrism, and nepotism.” How are we supposed to explain the fact that rational individuals will back a candidate who has a track record of impunity and who has implemented fiscal and monetary policies that have failed miserably for almost a decade, during which time millions of Nigerians were forced to live in abject poverty? To Obiorah’s knowledge, this is the first time in Nigeria’s history that a sitting Governor of the Central Bank has been seen engaging in political activity; however, he does not see any reason why the Governor should be investigated and brought to justice if he is found guilty.
“Also while he was in office, we were informed of how the DSS accused Emefiele of financing terrorism. He was accused of funding the activities of the outlawed pro-Biafra group known as IPOB, in addition to other groups. As a party, we will not support any acts of witch-hunting, nor will we support any move to suppress good moves at getting to the root of the economic crisis that Nigeria is experiencing under Emefiele’s leadership. “We, therefore, called on the DSS and other security agencies to distinctly carry out their investigation workout any hindrance and inform the public of their findings as Nigerians are waiting patiently to know why they were so impoverished under the policy reeled out by Emefiele,” he stated. We called on the DSS and other security agencies to distinctly carry out their investigation work out any hindrances and inform the public of their findings.
Obiora Ifoh, who is in charge of the LP’s national publicity, declined to comment very much when she was asked for her response.
“We do not want to be responding to anything that occurs today. As soon as we speak, we are providing them with unwarranted publicity. Based on what they have been saying for so long, almost everyone is aware that they are impostors by this point. Instead of responding to the misbehaviour of these individuals, our focus is on speaking out on matters of national importance.
However, in this particular scenario, it is analogous to providing them with oxygen, as Ifoh explained.
