By Chesa Chesa
The Labour Party (LP) has demanded unreserved apology from two of its House of Representatives members-elect who went outside he party’s stance to praise the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the zoning formular of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the leadership of the proposed 10th Assembly.
The two members-elect are Hon. Amobi Ogah and Hon. Obi Aguocha, who spoke to journalists on Thursday after a meeting between all members-elect and Tinubu.
They had in their different interviews said that they alongside some of their colleagues have “agreed to go towards government and party decision” on the zoning of the leadership of the national assembly.
A statement issued by National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, responded that “though as newly elected lawmakers on the platform of the Labour Party, the Members-elect made the utterances which are clearly within their rights as individuals as enshrined in the laws of the land however, the party has a view quite different from what the honourable members were quoted to have said.
“As individuals, the lawmakers do not have the mandate to speak for the party and therefore cannot claim to be standing on the platform of the Labour Party to speak, giving views that are diametrically opposed to ideals for which Labour Party stands for.”
The LP declared that it “has nothing against the personality of President Tinubu, however, we are challenging both the process and final outcome of the presidential election. We as a party insist that the route to His Excellency must be excellent and anything other than that amounts to a mockery of democracy.
“We therefore caution the two lawmakers and by extension, any other member elected on the platform of the Labour Party who chose to walk outside the agreed position and ideals of the party to desist from such trajectory and vain glory.
“The party has given a clear directives and will not condone any of its members who will not subsume to the supremacy of the party. We therefore demand that the affected lawmakers retrace their steps and tender unreserved apologies to the leadership of the party.”
Ifoh noted that the “Labour Party is presently in the tribunal hoping to retrieve our mandate which was expressively given to our presidential candidate on the February 25, and every testament emanating from the tribunal points to the fact that Labour Party clearly won the election but was robbed. We have remained resolute to our belief that justice will be done and so soon.”
