From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), have come under severe criticisms over planned strike sequel to the removal of oil subsidy by President Bola Ahmed.
National Publicity Secretary of the Lamidi Apapa-led faction of Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, at a press briefing yesterday, noted that same NLC and TUC had supported the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi when he promised to remove oil subsidy if elected.
Arabambi said the decision should not be reversed because Obi did not win the election.
He said: “Whatever we have agreed on during our campaign, and as a party that promote peace, equity and justice in Nigeria, then we can’t be found to approbate and reprobate at the same time.
“Our Position is that, once Obi has said he would remove fuel subsidy from his first day in office, the same organized labour who stood on that position must not been seen working in cross purpose on the same thing that Tinubu, Atiku and even Obi said they were going to do.
“Obi said Subsidy was an organized crime that must be stopped. NLC can’t call for any strike. If they do, it is obvious that they are just being mischievous for a reason best known to them or maybe they have something against the President that they should come out open to tell Nigerians. That is our position as Labour Party.”
Meanwhile, Arabambi had told Obi, to drop his case at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, against President Bola Tinubu, with the claim that he is wasting him time and that of the court’s.
He claimed that Obi has not been able to provide any concrete evidence to back up his claims since PEPT began sitting.
According to him, Obi went to court to challenge the victory of Tinubu because the former governor of Anambra State and his co-travellers had different intentions as against the wishes of the Nigerians who offered their supports to the party.
“We have filed today at the court of appeal in Benin three notices of appeal with a stay of execution granted on the judgment delivered on the 26th day of may 2023 where the court order the NWC of our party under Alh Bashiru Lamidi Apapa not to act on the suspension made by the ward 3 executive.
“With the stay of execution from the higher court now , the judgment is now in nulity and of no effect thus the suspension of Julius Abure still subsist with the restraining order of the FCT high court granted on April 5th”
“We have followed with keen interest the shameful developments and approach by the so called legal team assembled by Peter Obi challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and we have, like many Nigerians, come to the conclusion that Obi is not only taking Nigerians for a ride but would continue to waste the hard earned resources donated by Nigerians for this purpose to even enrich himself the more.
“Obi attempt to cage the sense of thinking of Nigerians by trickily obtaining money from them to fund the court process making them to believe that there is something for him at the end of the day must stop now.
“All of you here who have been following this case can recalled that the day we had altercation in court with Abure’s group, that INEC announced that Peter Obi could not pay for CTC form EC08 and other documents to be for the election.
“That now compelled them to only present only thirty per cent of the materials they would need for the hearing at Election Petition Tribunal.
“How would any right thinking person go to election tribunal with only thirty per cent of your documents where not of all them would be accepted or agreed to be tendered by other political parties?
“Three days ago, they said two of their counsels were sick and yesterday they could not even file a single process with the array of SAN with Obi.
“This what we have been saying that they are just trying to hoodwink the public, deceiving the Obidients and giving them false hope that they have something at the tribunal.
“It’s evident from the attitude displayed by them when they wrote a letter to INEC that Obi could not pay N1.5 million.
“Who are they deceiving? Counsels were sick? Just two out of how many of them and they stalled a court process when time is already against our party.
“Yesterday, the court had to give them a stand down of ten minutes to file their process. They came back and they could not do anything.
“You heard what the court told them. They are waisting the time of the court and that they are not serious.”
While declaring that the court has confirmed the fear of the Apapa faction, he said the faction had raise alarm from the onset and have now been vindicated
“That is why we have consistently maintained that Obi is not serious. He came in to the party with nothing. He didn’t fund the election, he didn’t fund the party, he didn’t do anything for the party.
“He only came to mess of the entire process and to deceive Nigerians that he has something to offer to them.
“Labour Party is thereby calling on him to get step down his selfish ambition and stop messing up the party if he has nothing serious to present to the tribunal”, he added.