The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has warned the public to disregard the actions of Lamidi Apapa, its estranged former Vice Chairman, concerning the the party’s Edo State governorship primary election.
According to the LP, a letter purportedly written by Apapa to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), wherein the name of another governorship candidate was submitted, is fraudulent.
Obiora Ifoh, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, in a Sunday statement, in Abuja, said the Party’s leadership was aware of the letter written by “a dissident group and former party members.”
According to him, Apapa and his group were pushing for recognition of one Anderson Uwadiae Asemote and Monday Ojore Mawa as the gubernatorial and deputy governorship candidates respectively.
“Nigerians are sufficiently aware that the authors of the letter in circulation are fraudulent and desperate people seeking for recognition and also unrelentingly working towards obtaining by tricks from unsuspecting Nigerians as they have done in recent elections.
“As it is done in every corporate or governmental institutions, letters or any correspondences are received with a stamp of acknowledgement.
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“As it is a custom, if you write any letter to INEC, the commission is expected to receive it after due verification.
“Though acknowledgement of a correspondent does not imply recognition or acceptance of its content, but we however insist that INEC must henceforth verify signatories of any future correspondences as it concerns Labour Party before acknowledgement.
“Nigerians will recall that on the 22nd of February, two other political parties; namely APC and PDP had their parties primaries and that on the following day, Labour Party also had its primaries where it elected Barrister Olumide Akpata as its candidate.
“These events were televised live on notable television stations. INEC officials led by the state electoral commissioner also observed the very successful primaries.
“How on earth could a group of persons conduct a primary election that was not known or heard by the public and was not covered by the media, and went ahead to ask the INEC to act on their correspondence.
“INEC knows that there was no primary; it did not supervise any other primary but the one conducted by the Party led by Barrister Julius Abure,” Ifoh stated.
