The acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Lamidi Apapa, shares his thoughts on the leadership crisis in the party and the way forward.
There were high hopes that the Labour Party stood a good chance in the presidential election, what do you think went wrong?
In an election, everybody believes they will win. Nobody is prepared to be a loser, but it is certain that not everybody will win the election. It’s because we are optimistic that we will win. That’s why we maintain that we are the winner. I don’t want to believe that we actually lost the election, after all we won some seats. We have some senators and Reps, so it was only the presidential election. However, we still believe that we did not lose and that is why we are challenging it.
Before the election, many people doubted that your party could perform as it did. Was it the Peter Obi influence that worked for the party or were there other factors?
One thing is certain, leadership failure. Nigerians are tired of bad governance. In Nigeria today, no electricity, good employment, good road networks and other things, so people want positive change. They have tried both the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress and they have failed them so they have the belief that leadership from the Labour Party platform will do wonders, which was why they decided to try another party. That’s all. People believe they should send these people packing because they have disappointed us and the best thing is to disappoint them too with votes. That is why they turned to the Labour Party to find solutions to their problems because of the leadership that emerged from the party in the person of our presidential candidate, Peter Obi. There is no doubt that his influence and leadership failure in the country gave our party more popularity during the election.
Your party has been enmeshed in an internal crisis since the general elections ended, has the crisis been there before the elections and got aggravated afterwards or was it the outcome of the presidential election that caused it?
The election has nothing to do with the crisis right now. This is a case that has to do with crime and whether during or after the election or anytime at all, a criminal matter is what it is no matter the period it appears. What really happened was that the National Chairman of the party (Julius Abure) was asked by the court not to parade himself as the leader of the party, alongside other members. It is very clear for a case of forgery, conspiracy, perjury and impersonation, whether it is an election matter or not, a criminal matter is a criminal matter and anytime it comes, it must be dealt with that way.
With the current leadership crisis in the party, how do you plan to rebuild the party’s image in order to regain the trust of the people and prevent further crises?
After this crisis, this party will grow stronger and the value it had before will be enhanced because the whole world is watching how we are handling a case of criminal matter, especially for a party that believes in the rule of law. That is why some of us believe there is no crisis. It is a crisis of an individual believing to be above the law and we say no to that. If a court directed you not to parade yourself as an officer of the party, we believe that you cannot go ahead to do so. After the supposed crisis people will find out that the culprit is being punished legally or by the court and they will see that this party and the people in it do not condone indiscipline or acts of lawlessness. It will make us stronger when people know that you can’t do anything bad within the party and go unpunished.
Is there any future plan by the party to further punish the suspended chairman?
No, actually, if the order of court restraining him from parading himself is vacated, nobody will ask him not to go ahead because we believe in the rule of law. But until that order is vacated, he remains suspended and should not parade himself as the chairman of the party. What I am doing as the acting National Chairman is also in line with the constitution of the party, that for whatever reason, if the chairman is unable to play his role as the chairman of the party, the deputy chairman will take over the affairs of the party in an acting capacity and that is exactly what I have done. I have never called myself the National Chairman of the party but I keep saying the acting National Chairman means that if he is able to clear himself, he can come back and take his position.
Have you considered resigning as the factional National Chairman of the party, given that the crisis keeps degenerating over time?
Who am I going to step aside for? Will I step aside for someone who has been asked not to call himself the chairman of the party? So, it means I should step aside and we will lock the office and keep the party empty just like that. It is unreasonable for me to say I am stepping down. Have I committed an offence that warrants that? That is going to be an abnormality. I’m only rescuing the party. I’m on a rescue mission for the party with other members of the National Working Committee because if we don’t do that now some members of the party have to be restrained; the secretary, and treasurer, among others. These are the signatories to the account and it means that we are going to lock up the office. They are just the representatives of the party and that mandate is given by all of us so nobody should be bigger than those who gave them the order or the mandate if the constitution was written by all of us.
Since the party members are aware of the extant laws as contained in the party constitution, why are there factional groups within the party?
Well, there is no way people will understand things the same way. Some people believe that even what he has done is not sufficient for him now to leave the office. They have forgotten that if it is just a civil matter or a political matter, we can overlook it or handle it politically, but it is a matter between Julius Abure and the state. No matter the love we have for him, the law must take its course. It is not an issue of hatred but that of the law, and if the Labour Party is a creation of law, nobody should violate the law that created it because our party constitution is clear that the law of the land prevails. It is clearly stated. Any criminal matter is beyond the party constitution and that was exactly what happened.
Do you think it is necessary for your party to improve its communication strategy to better connect with its members and supporters since the factions are not ready to listen to one another?
I don’t want to believe that for now. When this issue came up some of them were not fully aware of what actually happened but as of today, there are so many avenues that they got this information because I have addressed conferences, granted interviews and spoken on national and state radios. So, if anybody is misinterpreting the situation, they are on their own. You are expected to respect the laws of the land. If it is for the love we have for Abure, he will continue but the law says don’t parade yourself as an officer of the party. The danger in it is that during the period when this particular order was given, we were having primaries for our governorship aspirants in Bayelsa and Kogi states but with the way Abure was behaving at that time he would continue to commit illegality and contempt of court. If he wrote letters while the court order restricting him was subsisting, the opposition parties would not say anything. If any of our candidates win the election, the opposition will simply bring out the process that produced such a person as the governorship candidate as illegal.
You were suspended from the party based on allegations of anti-party activities and running of parallel leadership. You have said the suspension was invalid, could you speak to this?
When I got the information I laughed over it because someone who has been suspended by the court still had the guts or courage to organise an illegal meeting where he pronounced suspension on somebody that is legal. We can suspend anybody from the party, but it’s not to be done by someone that has been asked not to parade himself as occupying that office. Anything he is doing now means he is acting illegally. He has no right to do it and already we have taken some of them to court for contempt of court. You cannot build something on illegality and expect it to stand. He believes he is above the law, but when the law is taking its course he will know the gravity of the offence he has committed.
Being an active member of the party since 2002, do you think the suspension was fair enough on you?
The suspension is a lie because they don’t have the power. It is only our group under my leadership that can suspend them. They cannot suspend us. How can you expect someone who is operating illegally to use his illegality to suspend a legal executive? It is impossible.
What is your take on the insinuations that you were being sponsored to cause a crisis in the party?
Well, such a claim is mischievous and a blackmail. I have spent 21 years in the party now. I joined the party in 2002 and I have been looking for a day when this party will lead or rule Nigeria so that our supporters and I will benefit from it. If it is now that somebody will say I’m working for somebody, that is a lie. I’m not working for anybody. I told them if they have any evidence to prove it they should bring it. Some people just open their mouths and talk without processing their thoughts.
What are the lessons you think the internal crisis in the party has taught you?
All of us will learn lessons. The party, the public and the government will also learn lessons. As a party, you have to respect the people you lead. Don’t believe you are above the law. Leaving things unattended has caused Abure what happened now. It is a case that has been on for quite a long time. They have been dragging the issue until it is exposed to the level it is now. He has never spoken about it. You can call him to deny this case of perjury. People are asking me to speak. They should ask Abure to also speak to that allegation. He will dodge calls about it because it is a very clear case. The person they forged the document, how the conspiracy was investigated, how the transaction came up, the account they used, how they used court stamps on court documents and everything, he has never spoken on that. People accuse you of doing something, it is better to speak on it. It is always good for one to be transparent and honest. The government should know that there is a way to tackle issues like this in the future. Our people outside should know that the person they call a saint might not be a saint at the end of the day because what is happening at the end of the day might surprise them.
As an old member of the party, some people say you are in the best position to resolve the crisis, given your experience and knowledge. Does that advice resonate with you?
The people’s belief that I should be in the best position to handle the matter is true and in the future after the crisis, they will still have to appreciate me for what I have done. If I had failed to take over the leadership of the party at the time I did, all the people calling themselves the candidates of the party would have lost hope because they would have built their hopes on illegality, but because of what is happening they have not realised the value of what I’ve done. I’m very sure in the near future they will appreciate me.
Your party is currently challenging Tinubu’s emergence as the president-elect in the court yet he will be inaugurated on May 29. Is there any plan to work with him even as an opposition party?
As it remains just a few days to the inauguration, we are still optimistic that the tribunal might still decide between now and that period because until the last day we still had the belief that the magic or something good can still come out of the court decision. One thing that is paramount is that we must have the progress of this country at heart. It is only in a peaceful atmosphere that we can talk about meaningful developments. That you inaugurated somebody does not prevent the case at the tribunal from going on. Like I used to say, 18 political parties contested the presidency, we can only have one winner and seventeen losers no matter the grammar and logic because we need only one president at a time.
You said you had been trying to reach out to Peter Obi but he was not responding, do you think he has a preference for a faction of the party?
Recently, he was quoted when he said he had never seen me before and I told the whole world that I don’t believe he has ever seen me before but I want to believe that he has forgotten and I explained how we met and where we met. I started by explaining that during his primary as a presidential aspirant, I did the opening prayer. He has the video clip to confirm that and at the beginning of his campaign when he went to Benin, I was there with him. After the campaign, we used his aircraft from Benin to Abuja and I was with him in the aircraft. I was with him in Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states. I won’t say His Excellency is telling a lie but he must have forgotten and the sitting arrangement at all our meetings has always been the chairman, Peter Obi and myself. It is not a far-distance sitting arrangement. That is why I say I don’t think he doesn’t know but must have forgotten.
You contested the governorship election in Oyo State in 2007 but since then you have not contested any public office, do you have the intention to run for any political office in the future?
If I am alive and I have the means to do so, I will still be interested because my joy to be part of those who will make wonders in Oyo State is still there. I believe I can make some positive changes if I am alive and God gives me the opportunity. However, it depends on God because I’m getting older now. Everything is in the hands of God if he still wants me to be useful to the people of Oyo State as a governor or in any capacity. I don’t have the intention to go to another party even if the court rules against us. This is because if I have followed the party for 21 years without tasting another party, I don’t think now that the party has more candidates that can develop the country is the period for me to leave when there is hope for us to lead in the future. I don’t have the intention to leave the party and I’m sure the party will not ask me to go too. (Punch)
