Labour Party’s interim publicity secretary protests working

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

The Labour Party’s interim national publicity secretary, Prince Tony Akeni, has raised serious concerns over what he described as poor working conditions, prolonged delays in the party’s congresses and national convention, and alleged internal sabotage that could derail the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.

In a leaked internal memo addressed to the National Executive Council (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Akeni expressed frustration over the ‘zero budget’ policy affecting his office, which he said had crippled the party’s publicity efforts and public image management nationwide.

According to Akeni, the interim National Working Committee (iNWC) inaugurated in Umuahia on September 4, 2024, was given a 90-day timeline to conduct membership registration, state congresses and an all-inclusive national convention.

However, he lamented that more than 445 days later, the process was yet to begin in earnest.

“Less than two years to the 2027 general elections, instead of the three months (90 days) original timeframe given to the working committee, the exercise has now spanned 445 days, yet membership registration and revalidation are not close to commencement,” Akeni stated.

The interim spokesman revealed that since relocating from Edo State to Abuja on August 7, 2025, to perform his duties, he has been operating out of hotel accommodation without a penny from the Labour Party or its stakeholders, except a token N10,000 for data support from Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku.

He criticised what he described as an ‘unrealistic and inhuman’ expectation that the party’s national publicity office should be self-funded, questioning how an opposition party hoping to challenge an incumbent could operate without financial support for media and communications.

“Which political party’s national image-maker and publicity mouthpiece in the history of Nigeria funded their party’s national publicity responsibilities solely from private income?” he queried.

Akeni warned that such neglect could permanently damage the Labour Party’s relationship with the media, undermine its credibility and further erode public confidence in the party’s leadership.

He also accused unnamed party officials of sabotaging efforts to reposition the party, alleging that they might be “proxy agents of rival parties” working to weaken the Labour Party ahead of the 2027 polls.

“Such an individual should be marked by all and sundry as a saboteur seeking to silence the voice of the party nationwide by implementing a policy that is tantamount to the party’s death sentence by silence,” he wrote.

He further questioned why, despite repeated assurances, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was yet to recognise the Sen. Nenadi Usman-led leadership of the Labour Party on its official portal, while the new ADC coalition party had already secured recognition for all elections up to 2027 and beyond.

He urged the party’s NEC and NWC to take decisive action before external forces ruin the party’s standing again in 2027 through internal divisions similar to those experienced during the 2023 election cycle