- The party said that it has no knowledge of any planned protest, nor has it sanctioned any public demonstrations aimed at recovering the secretariat
The Labour Party has raised alarm over attempts by the president Bola Tinubu-led government to arrest leading opposition figures as part of tactics to divert attention away from the myriad of challenges confronting the country.
This is even as the party denies claims that some of its prominent leaders are orchestrating a violent overthrow of the Tinubu-led federal government.
The party described a petition purportedly submitted to the National Security Adviser claiming its leaders are planning to take over government via undemocratic means “reckless, laughable and deeply suspicious.”
The petition accused Labour Party leaders — including former presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi, Nigeria Labour Congress President Comrade Joe Ajaero, Senator Victor Umeh, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, and Dr. Yunusa Tanko — of planning a “One Million Man March” as a cover to launch a coup d’état and reclaim the party’s former secretariat in Utako, Abuja.
But in a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday by Ken Eluma Asogwa, the Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Interim National Chairman of the LP, the Labour Party dismissed the claims as “phantom tales by moonlight”.
The party said that it has no knowledge of any planned protest, nor has it sanctioned any public demonstrations aimed at recovering the secretariat currently occupied by former party chairman, Barrister Julius Abure.
“Let it be stated unequivocally: the Labour Party is not involved in any protest, nor are we interested in reclaiming a property we abandoned months ago,” said Asogwa, the aide to the Interim National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman.
According to the party, following the April 4 Supreme Court judgment that affirmed Senator Usman’s leadership, formal communications were made to security agencies requesting enforcement of the ruling. However, the party stated that it opted to relocate its operations to a new, more secure location after security agencies failed to take action.
“What is alarming is the dangerous linkage between an imaginary protest and a treasonable offence. How a peaceful demonstration — which we did not even plan — suddenly becomes an attempt to topple a government defies logic,” the statement said.
The Labour Party further alleged that officials from the Department of State Services (DSS) have already begun harassing party leaders based on the claims, describing the development as a dangerous return to the tactics of military dictatorship.
“This is a throwback to the dark days of phantom coup plots. We’ve seen this before — where political dissenters are framed with treason to silence them,” the statement added.
The party called on security agencies to investigate the origin of the petition, expose those behind the “cowardly drama,” and resist being used as tools in what it described as a politically motivated witch-hunt.
“We urge the Nigerian people to see this for what it is — a poorly scripted act of desperation designed to distract from the real issues facing the nation,” Asogwa said. Nigeria travel packages
The Labour Party reaffirmed its commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and non-violent political