Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has asked factional Labour Party leaders Julius Abure and Lamidi Apapa to issue a formal apology if they want to be welcomed back into the party.
Speaking on Friday, July 18, at the Labour Party’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, Otti said the party had no interest in expelling anyone but insisted that reconciliation must start with a simple act of remorse.
“We are calling on aggrieved members of LP including Julius Abure to reconcile with the party. We are not interested in expelling anybody.
“All we are asking them to do is to write a letter of apology so that the interim leaders of the party can recall them for us to work with them,” Otti said.
The event also marked the inauguration of a new interim leadership, with Senator Nenadi Usman named as the National Chairman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha as National Secretary.
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Both were appointed to steer the party until fresh congresses are held to elect leaders from ward to national level.
But tensions within the party have continued to rise, especially after Abure reportedly withdrew an earlier promise to give automatic 2027 tickets to Otti and the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
That decision came shortly after Otti and Obi backed the formation of a 29-member caretaker committee led by Usman, an initiative the Abure-led National Working Committee flatly rejected, calling it illegal and without merit.
Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, responded by asking Otti to focus on governance in Abia State and stop meddling in internal party affairs.
The unfolding drama has raised fresh concerns over the party’s unity and direction as the 2027 general elections draw closer.