The crisis rocking the Labour Party has deepened following a shock suspension of its outspoken National Treasurer, Oluchi Oparah for asking the National Chairman of the party Julius Abure to account for N3.5 billion the party realised from sale of forms and fund raising during the 2023 general election season.
Barely 48 hours after the press conference by the National Treasurer, the other members of the Labour Party national working committee led by Julius Abure slammed Opara a six-month suspension.
The suspension was announced by the party’s National Working Committee on Wednesday at a press conference in Abuja.
The Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, had described Ms Oluchi Oparah as a mole being used to create a crisis in the party.
Obiora Ifoh said, “We see this (allegation N3.5 billion misappropriation) as an insult to the party leadership and millions of our members who are watching how their party’s image, which they have laboured hard to build, is trolled by one ingrate.”
“The disciplinary committee has, however, recommended to the National Executive Council of the party, through the NWC, that Ms. Oluchi Opara be suspended from the Labour Party for at least six months. This suspension is with immediate effect”, Iroh stated.
However, following the repeated financial scandals involving the Abure-led Labour Party leadership and the recent hasty suspension of its national treasurer for raising accountability questions, some Labour Party foundation members have expressed concerns that the Labour Party is turning into a colony of tyrants and crooks.
They contended that the Labour Party NWC acted like tyrants who hate transparency and accountability in suspending the National Treasurer without even attempting to set up an internal committee to investigate her allegations.
One Labour Party insider told Podium Reporters, “it is shocking that Abure would throw caution to the wind and behave like a tyrant who is trying to cover his crooked tracks. Why is he in a hurry to suspend a member of the NWC simply because she asked questions?“
“Julius Abure is simply turning our party to a party of tyrants and crooks where there is no internal democracy. If a whole national treasurer cannot freely ask question about how the party’s finances are spent without being victimised, who else is safe?”, the party insider queried.
Despite hinting that the suspension slammed on Oluchi Opara was as a result of the recommendation of its Disciplinary Committee to the party’s NEC through the NWC, there is no indication that the said disciplinary Committee gave Oparah a fair hearing or invited her at all.
Oparah’s press conference took place on Monday 12th February while her suspension was announced two days later. It is unlikely that the disciplinary Committee actually sat and invited the parties to make their presentations before arriving at a guilty verdict and recommending six months suspension.
Apart from the allegations of misappropriation against Abure, the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi has also shied away from accounting for proceeds of campaign fund raising despite a promise to do so. This has given substance to insinuations that the Labour Party is operating a very opaque leadership style.