By Obiasogu David
At a time when the tide of political permutations is graciously drifting in favour of Peter Obi, their own, the Abure-led faction of the Labour Party appears to want to play the disgruntled spoiler.
On March 10th, talks around a possible opposition coalition gained a tangible leap. El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state and APC heavyweight stalwart, dumped his party for the Social Democrat Party (SDP). His move pulled a measure of clout that frenzied the talks around the opposition coalition and the SDP as the vehicle.
In welcoming El-Rufai into the fold, Shehu Gabam, the National Chairman of the SDP, invited the leaders of other opposition parties. He sought the company of Nenadi Usman and her team mainly because they share longstanding amity, as Nenadi confirmed in her tweet.
The Abure-led faction, possibly piqued by the snub of participating in the event, staged irksome theatrics to mark a new chapter in the almost-becoming chronic Labour Party crisis.
They published a direct dark attack on Nenadi Usman, who heads the LP Transitional Committee that Peter Obi, Governor Alex Otti, and the other LP leaders set up to manage the party’s affairs, for honouring the SDP Chairman’s invitation.
On the surface, the harshly worded statement impresses as a decent cant intended to legitimately rebuke Nenadi Usman, whom they tagged as a straying offender. But in the depth of truth, it manifests as a harsh shenanigan of hateful sadists who appear to be contracted to spoil Peter Obi’s political providence.
A snippet of the statement called Nenadi Usman an “unregistered member of the party.” In another part, they referred to Nenadi’s honouring the SDP chairman’s invite as “a shameful but audacious display.”
More so, the statement labelled Nenadi’s Transitional Committee “illegal and ill-conceived,” which is assumed to be a timely intervention by Peter Obi and co in the heat of a crippling crisis in the party. It also made overtures that dismissed hopes that the LP might join the coalition, at least not the Abure-led faction.
A good guess is that the statement boldly attempted to ruffle Peter Obi’s surging reputation and derail opposition voices, calling for a coalition and quickly coalescing into a potent political force that looked to benefit him.
Peter Obi’s political reputation has rather surged in dimensions too unusual and unrivalled since after the 2023 Presidential election, which he lost in a disturbingly controversial manner.
His stubbornly soaring political clout, the potential of his ever-increasing and tireless army of supporters (the Obidients), and other pivotal permutations position him as the favourite to fly the flag of the opposition coalition.
Governor Bwala Mohammed of Bauchi state confirmed the opposition’s impressions of Peter Obi when he called him the “leader of the opposition” and vowed to be ready to work with Obi. El-Rufai himself has alluded to this prime status that Obi wields in the opposition fold.
A genuinely serious political party blessed with Peter Obi as its very loyal member would lead the charge for the profiting calls for an opposition coalition, particularly considering it lost the 2023 presidential election by a nose and will need a reinforced party to face a crude politician like Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
That the Abure-led faction of the LP is defiantly fighting against such providence stirs upsetting suspicions. Since the 2023 elections tribunal ended, they have taken actions that antagonize and seemingly target Obi’s political ambitions.
Abure’s insistence not to vacate office, even after it had long expired, the rushed party convention he and his cohorts conducted in Anambra that excites as comical mischief, and his rush to obtain a very disputed court judgement to affirm his illegality confirm the belief that he may have chosen a fight against Peter Obi.
Why are Abure and his gang intent on niggling Peter Obi, their so-called party’s apparent greatest asset that has brought the party matchless goodwill since its formation in 2002, and why are they taking actions that portend a sinister end for his popular mandate?
Obiasogu is an
Independent Writer and Political Analyst.
