You have no power to call for Labour party stakeholders meeting, Okafor faction tells Obi, Otti

• Abure presided over a national working committee (NWC) meeting and a communique was issued after.
• In the communique, Abure said Otti called for an emergency NEC meeting to dissolve party executives at state, local, and ward levels, citing expired tenures as the reason.

Callistus Okafor, the Labour Party’s national factional chairman, has declared that Peter Obi and Alex Otti lack the mandate to convene a stakeholders’ meeting on behalf of the party.

Obi was the LP presidential candidate in 2023 elections and Otti is the incumbent governor of Abia state.

According to Okafor, only he, as the legitimate party executive, possesses the authority to summon such a gathering.

This assertion comes after Otti announced a stakeholders’ meeting, which followed Abure’s advise to Otti to focus on governance and refrain from interfering with party administration.

The scheduled meeting is set to take place on September 4 at the Abia State government house, with Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, expected to be in attendance.

Abure’s presiding over a national working committee meeting, which resulted in a communique stating Otti’s intention to dissolve party executives due to expired tenures, wasdeemed illegal by Okafor.

Okafor cites Abure’s own expired tenure as the basis for this declaration.

A 2018 court judgment, which mandated an inclusive national convention, is claimed by Okafor as a beneficiary.

Consequently, Okafor declared any meeting held outside the consent judgment to be null and void.

He dismissed Abure’s actions as a ploy to manipulate followers, creating a false sense of hope.

He emphasized that only he, as party executive, possesses the authority to approve stakeholders’ meetings.

Okafor accused Obi and Otti of attempting to hijack the party for personal gain.

He highlighted that Abure’s tenure ended on June 27, 2024, and it is criminal deception for him to claim chairmanship.

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s rejection of the 2014 Nnewi convention, according to Okafor, serves as proof of its illegitimacy.

He pledged to reconcile members, conduct inclusive congresses, and hold a national convention to achieve a united LP.