Barr. Julius Abure, the Labour Party’s (LP) factional national chairman, has stated that Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, is not authorised to negotiate a coalition with any group on the party’s behalf prior to the 2027 polls.
Abure added that the party’s ticket has now been thrown open, defying rumours that the party was celebrating Obi’s announcement that he would run for office on the party’s platform for the 2027 polls.
This was said in a statement released in Abuja on Monday by Obiora Ifoh, the LP faction’s national publicity secretary.
He said, “We have consistently said that Labour Party will not go into any coalition or merger of any sort ahead of 2027 general election.
“Therefore, Obi’s continued association with the coalition is not only distasteful but also unacceptable to the party.
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“It is also an affront to the party leadership, and we view his position as a total disregard to the party’s right to make decisions about its affairs.
“While we are not opposed to anybody running under the platform of the Labour Party in the 2027 polls, we need to make it categorically clear that the party has a longstanding rule on how its candidates shall emerge, and automatic ticket is not one of the routes.
“Recall that at the party’s National Convention in 2024, the party had erroneously granted automatic tickets to our former presidential candidate and the only governor of the party, however, that decision has since been rescinded and reversed after consulting the statute books.
“His Excellency, Peter Obi, hours after he spoke of his intention to run under the Labour Party, was on Sunday (yesterday) seen in a meeting of a pro-coalition group in Abuja without the permission and consent of the Labour Party leadership.
