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From Paul Orude, Bauchi
As crisis continues to rock the leadership of Labour Party (LP), its acting National Chairman, Lamidi Apapa, has denied being a stooge of President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
He disclosed this, yesterday, in Bauchi during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party.
He expressed surprise that the presidential candidate of the party, Mr Peter Obi, did not know him, claiming he has been in the party since 2001, and was state Chairman in Osun for 10 years.
Apapa also said he was the party’s deputy president, South West, for four years and deputy national chairman, before being ratified by the NWC as acting chairman.He said his emergence was to rescue the party from being destroyed by the Julius Abure-led executive.
He said the Abure tenure committed criminal infractions and that the NWC had no choice than to constitutionally remove him and three other national officers.
He, however, denied speculation that his leadership was scheming to withdraw the suit filed by the party challenging the outcome of the presidential election that announced the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as winner.
“Let me state categorically that the Labour Party under my leadership is committed to lawfully pursuing the matter in the presidential election petition tribunal to a logical end.”
Apapa accused Abure of using unlawful means to withdraw and substitute eligible candidates who emerged from lawful primaries.
“This action has constituted a major problem in the party as evidenced in the Nigeria Police FCID Investigation Report with Forensic Audit, upon which the FCT High Court issued a retraining under on 5th April,2023 against Aburi and three others from parading themselves as National Officers of our great party, under Julius Aburi,” he stated.
He said the leadership vacuum created by the exit of Aburi and the other three national officers was filled in acting capacities during an emergency meeting of the NWC of the party on April 6.
He alleged that Aburi and three national officers had been indicted by the police for forgery, perjury and criminal conspiracy.
