Two weeks before the presidential election, controversy erupted within the Labour Party (LP) in the South‑West after its leaders announced the dissolution of the party’s regional structure and its merger into the All Progressives Congress (APC). The LP leaders also declared their support for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. Speaking to journalists in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, on Monday, South‑West Chairman Omotoso Banji explained that the transition to the APC was facilitated by Dr Dayo Adeyeye, the National Coordinator of the South‑West Agenda for Asiwaju Tinubu 2023, and other members of the group.
Ondo State Labour Party Chairman Remilekun Ojo, however, dismissed the claim of a party collapse, describing the event as attended by “a few dozen people” who claimed to represent the South‑West chapter. Banji, who led the decision to dissolve the structure, argued that the LP was no longer viable and lacked the clout to win the upcoming general elections. He said, “Labour Party is presently a shaky platform for anyone to contest. It is a failed platform. I don’t know Peter Obi and I’m less concerned about him, but I am concerned about those who are celebrating the Labour Party’s mediocrity in Nigeria. In view of this, we, the leaders of the Labour Party in the South‑West, have decided to leave the party because there are many mediocrities who are only after money and are not ready to serve Nigeria. We are the pillars of that party in the South‑West, and, to the glory of God Almighty, we have pulled down the structures today (Monday). I was surprised to hear from the DG of the party, Akin Osuntokun. We don’t know him in the Labour Party; he is representing his own personal interest.”
Dr Dayo Adeyeye, while receiving the defectors, urged them and other APC members across the South‑West to return to their polling units and work for Tinubu’s victory in the forthcoming presidential poll. In contrast, Ojo issued a statement rejecting the meeting’s legitimacy, noting that it was chaired by an expelled member, Banji Omotoso, who had previously served as caretaker state chairman in Ekiti State from 2017 to 2019. Ojo affirmed that the Labour Party in the South‑West and across all six geopolitical zones “remains one and indivisible” and would not merge with any other party, “not even the APC, which has brought untold hardship and suffering to the nation.”
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