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A factional spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP), Obiora Ifoh, has accused the party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of acting in an anti-democratic manner following the 2023 general election.
Ifoh, who speaks for the Julius Abure-led faction of the party, said Obi’s actions after the election marked a clear departure from the democratic principles on which the party presented him as its flagbearer.
According to him, the Labour Party initially supported Obi because it believed he aligned with its ideology of social democracy, justice, and equal opportunity. However, he said events after the election revealed otherwise.
He alleged that instead of uniting the party and strengthening its structures after securing over six million votes, Obi attempted to undermine the party’s leadership by pushing for the removal of duly elected executives.
Ifoh claimed that Obi, a few months after the election and ongoing court cases, demanded that the party’s national leadership step aside, despite having earlier supported the convention that produced them.
He further alleged that Obi mobilised loyal members of the National Assembly and the Abia State Governor in a bid to forcefully remove the party’s leadership, rather than waiting for the expiration of their tenure as stipulated in the party’s constitution.
“The party’s constitution clearly states how officers can be removed, but he did not have the patience to follow due process,” Ifoh said, hinting that these actions formed the basis of the party’s claim that Obi acted undemocratically.
The LP chieftain also alleged that the internal crisis worsened after a faction allegedly set up a caretaker committee in September 2024, claiming that the Abure-led executive’s tenure had expired, an assertion he described as inconsistent and misleading.
He noted that several lawsuits followed the leadership dispute, further deepening divisions within the party.
Peter Obi recently defected from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a move that has intensified internal debates over the fallout from the 2023 election and the party’s future direction.
