*Coalition aims to worsen national political atmosphere – Party
“We hereby disassociate our great party, the Labour Party, from such a clandestine gathering calculated to further throw the political atmosphere of Nigeria into more heinous confusion. It is an undisputable fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its allies, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the civil society, are the owners of the party. Such a vital decision to join a coalition cannot be effected without the approval of their respective governmental organs.”
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s coalition of 42 parties, which signed an MoU last Monday to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari and defeat All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 elections, has suffered further setback as yet another political party listed in their adopted CUPP alliance, Labour Party (LP), says it has dissociated itself from any coalition against APC.
The PDP’s coalition is the end result of the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Third Force which he initiated following his 18-page letter in which he said the President should not seek re-election because, according to him, he has failed Nigerians. The Obasanjo’s Third Force however failed to fly when Buhari went ahead and declared his intention to seek re-election in 2019 and the mode of opposition change to what has today become rejected PDP leading the coalition that has drawn all Obasanjo’s men including Olagunsoye Oyinlola as members.
But reacting to its listing as member of the coalition, the Labour Party (LP) has distanced itself from the coalition, which it said was formed by some political parties to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
LP National Chairman, Dr. Mike Omotosho, in a statement on Thursday, disclosed that those who signed the purported Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) impersonated the party.
Omotosho revealed that Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, the former LP national chairman, who was removed at the Special National Convention of the party on October 3, 2017, impersonated the national chairman and committed the party to the coalition by signing MOU on behalf of the party.
“We wish to unequivocally state that Labour Party is not part of any coalition.
“The leadership of the party has not been consulted, neither has there been any formal meeting or agreement between our party and any other political party in Nigeria in this respect.
“The Labour Party is not only a political party but a political movement, guided by its ethics, values, principles and social ideology, where all actions are taken in consideration of due process,” Omotosho stated.
He insisted that if there was any need for the LP to join any coalition, the consent and the approval of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party would have been sought before such a huge decision is taken.
According to Omotosho, the vision and mission of the coalition is not yet clear to LP.
“We, therefore, at this moment cannot subject the party to an alliance whose objectives and goals is currently not understood.”
He called on all peace-loving Nigerians to disregard all allusions to the inclusion of LP and those of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), they party’s key promoter, as members of any collation.
LP said where such collaborations are being explored, the NEC headed by Omotosho would formally communicate to all stakeholders. It warned that until such a period, “anyone that transacts any form of business with such group does so at his/her own peril”.
Omotosho posited that the commitment of LP “to this unholy alliance is therefore the fiery imaginations and fictions of a few recalcitrant members” and borne out of their hurriedness to mortgage the party for their selfish political end.
“We hereby disassociate our great party, the Labour Party, from such a clandestine gathering calculated to further throw the political atmosphere of Nigeria into more heinous confusion.
“It is an undisputable fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its allies, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the civil society, are the owners of the party.
“Such a vital decision to join a coalition cannot be effected without the approval of their respective governmental organs.
“As it stands now, neither the NWC, NEC nor NLC are aware or privy to this coalition engagement,” Omotosho stated.
