The Labour Party has declared that it will not permit its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to join the Peoples Democratic Party.
This assertion was made by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, during an interview on Channels Television on Friday.
Arabambi explained that the party is seeking a political resolution to its internal crisis to prevent Obi from collaborating with his PDP counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 elections. He stated, “Politically, we will not allow the crisis to fester for long that we will now allow Mr Peter Obi to join Atiku. We knew their plans, that was why we said ‘we need to explore political solution between ourselves.’”
This declaration comes amid ongoing legal battles within the Labour Party. Recently, an FCT High Court barred Julius Abure and two others from presenting themselves as national officers of the party. This decision was made by Justice Hamza Muazu, who, on April 5, 2023, ruled on an ex parte application to restrain Abure, Farouk Ibrahim, Clement Ojukwu, and Oluchi Opara from acting as national officers of the Labour Party.
However, in March 2024, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned this decision. A three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Hamman Barka, found that Abure’s appeal had merit and ruled that the FCT High Court had wrongfully assumed jurisdiction in the matter. The appellate court also awarded N1 million in favor of Abure and the other appellants.
In response to the appellate court’s ruling, Arabambi commented on the implications for the party’s actions during the period in question. He said, “Since the Court of Appeal just set aside the judgement in March 2024, every other thing done between March 2023 and to 2024 by Julius Abure is a nullity.”
The Labour Party’s efforts to resolve its internal disputes and prevent Obi from joining the PDP underscore the ongoing political maneuvering and alignments as parties position themselves for the next election cycle.
