Julius Abure, the factional National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), has cautioned Senator Seriake Dickson, the national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), against allowing Peter Obi and his supporters to dominate the party’s structure, warning that the NDC could face challenges similar to those experienced by the Labour Party after the 2023 general elections.
Abure issued the warning in a statement personally signed on Monday, following Obi’s emergence as the NDC presidential candidate after his ratification at the party’s national convention held in Abuja on May 30.
The LP chieftain said Dickson appeared to have learned valuable lessons from the internal crisis that engulfed the Labour Party, commending what he described as the NDC leader’s decision not to hand over all elective positions within the party to Obi’s supporters.
“They say history usually repeats itself. Senator Dickson and his team have seen what happened to us and appear to have learned from it. Many of those who won elections and got into government later turned against the party leadership,” Abure said.
He further alleged that Obi and many of his supporters failed to appreciate the sacrifices made by the Labour Party leadership ahead of the 2023 elections.
“I want to say that Obi and his followers are ingrates who will never remember the sacrifices made for them. It would be dangerous for the NDC leadership to completely hand over elective positions to Obi and his supporters,” he stated.
Abure claimed that several politicians who emerged through the Labour Party platform in 2023, including Obi and the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, later became opposed to the party leadership.
According to him, the Labour Party made significant concessions to accommodate Obi’s political interests during the 2023 election cycle by allocating several party tickets to his supporters, many of whom received them free of charge.
“We ensured that Obi’s interests were adequately protected. We paid attention to his preferences and granted tickets to many of his supporters. Most of those tickets were given free because we believed we were investing in individuals who shared the party’s philosophy,” he said.
Abure also argued that the party’s internal crisis worsened after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acted on a court ruling declaring that the tenure of the party’s executives had expired, leading to the emergence of the Nenadi Usman-led Interim National Committee.
“They fell into INEC’s trap when the commission insisted that the executives’ tenure had expired. We expected them to reject that position,” he added.
The former LP chairman advised Dickson to ensure that trusted loyalists occupy strategic positions within the NDC in order to preserve the party’s leadership structure and maintain internal stability.
“He needs to have his own people in key positions so that when challenges arise, there will be people willing to defend and support him,” Abure said.
He further accused Obi’s supporters of joining the NDC with the intention of taking control of the party’s structure.
“They moved into the NDC with Obi hoping to occupy every available space, just as they did in the Labour Party. No political party leader who witnessed what happened to the Labour Party under Obi and his supporters would want to repeat that mistake,” Abure stated.
