A FRESH crisis is brewing between the Labour Party and the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation following plans by the latter to unveil a campaign council which the party described as alien.
The Dr. Doyin Okupe-led Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organization yesterday sent out invitations for the official unveiling of the P.O Presidential Campaign Council scheduled to hold on Wednesday (today).
However, Vanguard’s check at the Labour Party National Secretariat, in Abuja, revealed that the party is not officially involved in the planning and has not sanctioned the programme.
An invitation card signed by the Director General of the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Doyin Okupe, announced that the unveiling ceremony will take place at 12:00 Noon, at the Golden Hall, Chelsea Hotel, Central Business District, Abuja.
The invitation tagged: “The Director General Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Doyin Okupe Cordially invites you to a Pre-Campaign World Press Conference and the presentation of the Presidential Campaign list …” was signed by Emeka Edmond Onwuocha, on behalf of Okupe.
However, party insiders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “the matter is being sorted out”, disclosing that the party is not party to the unveiling.
One of the sources said: “As I speak to you, the Labour Party has not okayed any list of members of the Presidential Campaign Council because there are yet to be resolved issues.
Most of us are of the opinion that our campaign council must be all embracing and enjoy national spread. We must not repeat the mistakes of political parties we want to replace.
Our Presidential candidate is from the South, the DG of the campaign is also currently from the South. The provisional list I saw leaves out most of the North.
There is no official substance from the North-East, North-West and the North-Central for example. How can we campaign in these places when we know what we are up against with Atiku and Kwankwaso in the North and Tinubu in the South?
Even the Diaspora Committee earlier inaugurated is almost exclusive to one section of the country.
When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Arabambi Abayomi said: “I’m hearing about this (event) from you. We are having our National Working Committee meeting on Thursday, that is where issues about and around the campaign are discussed. You said there will be an unveiling of a list tomorrow (Wednesday?) That is strange.”
Obi/Datti to begin zonal campaign rallies Oct 18
Meanwhile, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi and his running mate, Dr Yusuf Datti Ahmed, will kick-off their campaigns on October 18 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
According to the schedule of the rallies released by the party, the campaigns will be taken to each of the six geo-political zones beginning with North-Central and ending with South-East mid-December.
After the kick-off in Nasarawa (North-Central) on October 18, the campaign train will go to Makurdi, Benue State (October 19); Minna, Niger State (October 20); Ilorin, Kwara State (October 22); and Lokoja, Kogi State (October 23).
Thereafter, the LP presidential rallies will go to the South-South beginning in Benin, Edo State (October 25); Asaba, Delta (October 26); Yenagoa, Bayelsa (October 27); Port Harcourt, Rivers (October 28); Uyo, Akwa Ibom (October 29); and Calabar, Cross River (October 31).
For the North-West, the rallies will start in Kaduna, Kaduna (November 3); Kano, Kano (November 5); Dutse, Jigawa (November 6), Katsina, Katsina (November 7); Sokoto, Sokoto (November 8).
Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi (November 9); and Gusau, Zamfara (November 10).
After North-West, the LP train will hit South-West beginning at the zone’s Ibadan, Oyo State zonal capital on November 21. It will also rally in Osogbo, Osun (November 22); Akure, Ondo (November 23); Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti (November 24); Abeokuta, Ogun (November 25); and Alimosho, Lagos (November 25).
In the North-East, the rallies will start at Bauchi, Bauchi (November 29); and move to Gombe, Gombe (November 30); Jalingo, Taraba (December 1); Yola, Adamawa (December 3); Maiduguri, Borno (December 4); and Damaturu, Yobe (December 5).
Obi’s South-East zone will be the last to be visited thus: Enugu, Enugu (December 8); Abakaliki, Ebonyi (December 9); Onitsha, Anambra (December 10); Owerri, Imo (December 13) and Umuahia, Abia (December 14).
Confirming the kick-off of the zonal campaign rallies themed: “Making Nigeria Work for All,” Spokesperson of the Third Force Coalition for the Labour Party, Dr Yunusa Tanko, who said that the LP Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, would be announced soon, told Vanguard, yesterday: “The campaign rally programme is tentative. It is subject to amendments as we go on.”
