- Safiu Kehinde
Labour Party has slammed Abia state governor, Alex Otti, for convening stakeholders meeting in Umuahia.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, on Thursday.
As contained in the statement, Labour Party stressed that Otti does not have the power within the party’s constitution to convene any meeting on its behalf.
They labelled the meeting as a ‘charade’ and ‘waste of time and resources of Abia people’.
Otti had, reportedly, held the meeting over the conduct of the party’s National Convention.
He was alleged to have set up a caretaker committee which was chaired by an unregistered member of the party.
Labour Party challenged Otti to provide an official letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as regards the subject matter.
The statement read in part; “…the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti and all others who have converged in Umuahia have no power within the Party Constitution, the Electoral Act and even within the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to convene any meeting of the Party.
“The premise on which Governor Alex Otti called the meeting is not only faulty but mischievous. Government business is not transacted verbally but through official communication and correspondences which are done in writing.
“As we speak, there is no communication whatsoever from INEC to the Party as regards any objection to the conduct of the National Convention.
“We challenge Alex Otti to produce the official letter addressed to him from INEC on the subject matter. There is no vacuum in the leadership of the Party.
“Consequently, the so-called caretaker committee set up by the Governor of Abia State is not known to the constitution of the Party and can best be described as a department in Abia State Government House.
“We are shocked to note that the so-called chairman of the caretaker committee is not a registered member of the Party. She surfaced during the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign to assist Peter Obi in his campaign.”