A former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed, on Friday dismissed reports suggesting that former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, had dumped the party, insisting that “nothing has changed.”
Speaking after the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, which was observed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Baba-Ahmed said Obi remained a member of the LP.
“To the best of our knowledge, our brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, is still a member of the Labour Party. Nothing has changed. If he were here now, I would have shifted my seat to the left for him,” he told journalists.
Baba-Ahmed said the party had survived its internal crises and was now repositioning for future political engagements. He described INEC’s attendance at the NEC meeting as a “major turning point,” saying it affirmed the legitimacy of the gathering.
“The Labour Party has not reduced in any way. We have only increased in numbers. We have gone through rough times, as is usual with political associations, and have emerged from it,” he said.
“This is a renewed drive for reconciliation, and I am here as a loyal party member to continue to open our arms to new and existing members for the national assignment ahead of us.”
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On the security challenges facing the country, the LP chieftain said the current situation — including mass school abductions and the killing of senior military officers — was part of the consequences the party had warned Nigerians about ahead of the 2023 elections.
“Nigerians voted en masse for change, and something else happened. These would never have happened if the Labour Party had formed the government of Nigeria,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed also said that improving workers’ welfare remained central to the LP’s ideology, adding that the party would continue to champion decent and realistic living wages.
Friday’s NEC meeting, chaired by National Chairman Julius Abure, was part of ongoing efforts to resolve the leadership tussle triggered by the controversial 2024 national convention in Nnewi, which split the party into rival factions backed by top figures, including Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti.