Segun Ayinde
The Labour Party has disowned a statement by its former Ogun State chairman, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, alleging that plans were underway to expel the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his involvement in a newly formed political coalition.
Arabambi had claimed during a press conference in Abeokuta that the party leadership was plotting to remove Obi for aligning with a coalition reportedly spearheaded by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), involving key political figures including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, former Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, and ex-Attorney General Abubakar Malami, among others. The coalition is said to be strategizing to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
However, in a swift response over the weekend, the Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, dismissed Arabambi’s statement as false and lacking legitimacy.
“That statement is not from the Labour Party. We are not expelling anyone. We are running an inclusive leadership in the Labour Party,” Ifoh said.
He stressed that Arabambi, who was reportedly removed from his position as Acting National Publicity Secretary in 2023, has no authority to speak on behalf of the party’s national leadership.
READ ALSO: NEC Will Decide Obi’s Fate, But No Date Set Yet — LP
“There is no such plan at the national level to expel Mr. Peter Obi. The statement by Arabambi is entirely his personal opinion and does not represent the position of the Labour Party,” Ifoh clarified.
He further reiterated that the party remains focused on building a broad-based, inclusive political movement capable of rescuing Nigerians from the current economic hardship under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ifoh warned that any attempt to isolate or remove Obi would contradict the Labour Party’s commitment to inclusiveness and internal democracy.