With less than 10 days to the local government election in Abia, the faction of the Labour Party(LP) backed by Governor Alex Otti is still swirling in confusion and dilemma as the prospect of disastrous outing in the poll stares it in the face.
The ruling party has been torn into two factions after the expanded stakeholders met in Umuahia and dissolved the Julius Abure led national working committe(NWC) and replaced it with a caretaker committee headed by Senator Nenadi Usman.
But the Appeal Court ruling in Abure’s favour and his subsequent recognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) as the National Chairman of LP has thrown spanner in the works for Abia’s ruling party.
It was gathered the Abia LP under Otti’s leadership with Emmanuel Nweze Oti as actijg state chairman is now weighing two options of either using another party to contest the LG poll or eating the humble pie and mend fences with the Abure group.
Already the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) has said that it was disposed to accepting the list of candidates presented by the faction loyal to Abure.
The ABSIEC Chairman, Professor George Chima dropped the hint last week when he featured on a radio programme, ‘Open Parliament’ aired by Family Love FM. He disclosed that the state electoral body was in consultation with INEC for guidance over the crisis in Labour Party.
He categorically stated that ABSIEC would recognise only the faction accorded recognition by INEC hence Governor Otti may have to pull off a political briskmanship to save his party from electoral disaster.
The LP National Vice-chairman, Southeast, Ceekay Igara warned on Monday that any seat won by candidates nominated by the faction loyal to Otti would be an exercise in futility because “well go to court and take it”.
“If they(Otti backed candidates) leave LP and join another party, they have disqualified themselves,” Igara said, adding that the court of law would be asked to nullify their candidatures.
“The best option for them is to remain in Labour Party,” he stated.
Igara, who is also the chairman of the 2024 Local Government Election Committee Management Team for Abia, “as empowered by NWC” said that he was aware that Abure has been contacted by the Otti group for reconciliation.
However, he said that Abure had told the Abia group that reconciliation must start at the state level first before moving to the national level.
“Due process must be followed. They(Otti’s group) must respect the system,” Igara said.
Igara also confirmed that he was arrested at the weekend by the police while he was conducting a seminar for chairmanship and councillorship candidates that emerged from his faction to prepare them for the forthcoming LG poll.
The factional state chairman, Emmanuel Oti, backed by the governor had in a statement said that Igara was arrested “for extortion and impersonation of the state chairman” following a petition sent to the police.
Igara later regained his freedom after he was whisked from the venue of the seminar at Aba to the Area Command and finally to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Umuahia where he made statement.
He denied any wrongdoing, saying that he never collected money from anybody as it was the NWC that stipulated the amount of money paid by the candidates for their nomination.
According to him, it was ridiculous to link him with impersonation as he had “overgrown” the post of state chairman having occupied it before his elevation to the national level as National Vice-chairman.
Meanwhile, the state publicity secretary of the rival Abia LP faction, Ajike Njoku, has sounded conciliatory note, saying that “nobody supported the incasion of the meeting venue of LP members at Aba” where Igara was arrested.
He described the crisis in LP as “an issue under our capacity to resolve” without generating media attention, adding that the Abia governor-backed LP had acknowledged the court verdict on Abure.
“We do accept that there is an issue on ground. But we’re working to unite the party,” Njoku said.