The Labour Party has ruled out automatic tickets for Mr Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti of Abia State in the 2027 presidential and governorship elections.
Obi was the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party’s Deputy National Secretary, Mr Innocent Okeke announced the resolution after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday.
“All tickets of the party from the presidency to the House of Assembly are open to all qualified Nigerians,” he said.
Otti had convened a stakeholder meeting held in Umuahia Abia during which the meeting, the National Working Committee, the National Executive Council, the State Council, Local Government and Ward Executives of the party were dissolved and replaced with a Caretaker Committee.
But Okeke said that Otti, who convened the meeting, did not have the power within the party’s Constitution as provided in Article 14 (4) (B).
According to him, such power was vested in the National Secretary with the approval of the National Chairman.
“NEC in session further reiterates that the governor of Abia does not even have the power to call his ward executive meeting without the approval and the consent of his ward chairman.
“The Labour Party Constitution provides how members of the National Working Committee, State Executive Committee and all other officials of the party can be removed.
“NEC in session also grants the National Working Committee powers to take disciplinary action against any member that brings the party into disrepute,” Okeke said.
Okeke, therefore, called on all members of the party supporters and the general public to disregard Otti’s meeting and its outcome.
He said that NEC reposed confidence in the leadership of Mr Julius Abure-led NWC and urged all party members to continue to respect the leadership of the party and obey its lawful directives.
In a speech, he tagged: “The Beautiful Ones are not Yet Born in Nigeria” the embattled Abure said the Otti’s action was a show of betrayal.
“Let me be clear; this action was not just illegal, it was a betrayal of everything the Labour Party stands for.
“The Labour Party has always been a beacon of hope for the oppressed, the marginalised and the voiceless in Nigeria. Our mandate is to unite this country not divide it.
“Yet, here we are, faced with a situation where individuals who have benefitted from the trust and support of this great party now work to destabilise it from within.
“This is why I say the beautiful ones are not yet born in Nigeria, but they will be born through our collective effort’’, he said.