Former factional National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has acknowledged that the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, brought significant prominence to the party ahead of the 2023 general election.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday, Abure said Obi’s entry into the Labour Party boosted its national profile, although he maintained that the party had already established itself as a viable political force before the former Anambra State governor joined.

According to Abure, the Labour Party and Obi contributed equally to the party’s success during the 2023 elections, describing the relationship as a “50-50 contribution.”

He said Nigerians were already searching for an alternative political platform, while the Labour Party provided a credible structure that attracted Obi and other politicians.

Abure noted that the party was not without achievements before Obi’s arrival, recalling that it had previously produced a governor and elected public office holders.

He also stated that several prominent politicians, including Pat Utomi and Alex Otti, had joined the party before Obi, adding that the Labour Party was already emerging as a third-force movement in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Abure said: “There’s no gainsaying the fact that Mr. Peter Obi brought prominence to the Labour Party.

“But to say very clearly, it is a ’50-50 contribution’. Nigerians were determined to have an alternative political platform to the other platforms. I want to believe that we created and made the platform available. We created that opportunity, and we brought our own credibility and platform to the party.

“I’m sure that that was what Peter Obi saw that attracted him to the party. The party wasn’t completely empty.

“You recall that the party had once had a governor before. We have had elected office holders before.

“And let me say this very clearly: even before Peter Obi came, a lot of prominent Nigerians had already joined the party. So, it was very clear that the party was already becoming the third-force political party in Nigeria before Peter Obi came.

“Don’t forget that politicians like Pat Utomi, Alex Otti and some other political heavyweights had already joined the party before Peter Obi joined.

“But I want to agree completely that he brought prominence, and we also complemented that. And that was what resulted in what we had in the 2023 general election.”

Embattled factional National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, says his group will not rest until the Supreme Court put the matter of the crisis rocking the party to rest.

Abure made this known on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He was speaking on leadership crisis in the Labour Party, noting that they were not bringing down the house that they built and that they would not be working to bring down the image of the party.

He, however, maintained that injustice and impunity cannot continue in the way it is going.

Abure also faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for recognizing the leadership of Nenadi Usman as interim chairman of the party.

“It is when the Supreme Court gives a final verdict on the matter that it will be said to be laid to rest.

“You know that the Labor Party was built and developed under me and got prominence under my leadership.

“I want to say very clearly that the proper thing that would have been done was for INEC to have waited till the final determination of the case by the Supreme Court before recognizing Nenadi Usman Usman as the national chairman of the party,” he added.

Embattled factional National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure had accused the interim chairman of the party, Nenadi Usman as an intruder in the party.

Abure said this on Tuesday when he featured in an interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television.

He was speaking on the Labour Party divisions and 2027 politics.

“I need to make it very clear that I am not an interloper in Labour Party. If there is any intruder in Labour Party, I think it is Senator Nenadi Usman that is the interloper.

“In any event, the final court has not taken a decision on the matters of Labor Party. You recall that after the convention that was held in 2024 in Nnewi, Anambra state, the Federal High Court made a pronouncement that the convention was valid.

“The court also asked INEC recognize Labor Party under my leadership. The matter went to the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Appeal affirmed same.

“And then Nenadi Usman appealed to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said it was an internal affair of the party, and we have been working very closely with INEC after that decision,” he said.