Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has urged the disbanded National Working Committee (NWC), headed by Julius Abure, to lay down their weapons and work together with the National Caretaker Committee to re-establish the party.

This was said by Obi, who was represented by Datti Baba-Ahmed, at the party’s inaugural caretaker committee meeting on Tuesday night in Abuja.

He made it clear that no one could have removed former chairman Abure from office after his term ended other than the party’s constitution.

“Listen, my friend, the constitution unseated Abure—not any governor did,” stated Obi. Abure’s period passed. No one moved him from his seat. Abure is still a devoted member and a dear friend. He has roles to play, therefore we want him back in the fold.

“There was no crisis. We executed a somewhat rocky changeover, and that was it. No other political party of our size could have accomplished it in the time and manner that we did, I assure you.

As a political party, we took our claim to the 10 million votes all the way to the Supreme Court. They could only provide us with six million votes. We are therefore a formidable power in Africa. Nothing like anything we’ve done previously. They had the military when PDP arrived. Nothing was available to us.

Obi stated that by gaining a majority in the National Assembly and the presidency in 2027, the opposition party was prepared to duplicate and even surpass the success shown in the 2023 elections.

Prior to this, Senator Nenadi Usman, the chairman of the Labour Party National Caretaker Committee, gave party members assurances about the committee’s commitment to save the party from the current difficulties and reconstruct it as a genuine alternative forum for Nigerians.

In the brief period allotted to the committee, she gave her word that it would be prepared to guide the party towards reconciliation.

“I tell you for our dear nation, Nigeria, we are on a rescue mission,” Usman declared, referring not only to the Labour Party. Beyond party lines, this committee has attracted interest.

The amount of phone calls I have had, not only from Labour Party members but also from members of other political parties, promising that we will walk together if we get this right. So, we have a really big job.

With God’s blessing, our party will serve as a forum for all disgruntled and marginalised Nigerians. By the grace of God, we will provide a platform for those who are dissatisfied with the direction things are heading. We must therefore consider this to be a major national duty.