It is no longer news that the Labour Party has come to stay as Nigeria’s major credible political party with which the mass of the Nigerian population hopes to effect the need for change that will herald our great nation into prosperity and growth.
As shown in the outcome of the much-disputed election, most Nigerians spoke with a resounding voice that indeed, they were (and are still ready) for change by casting their lots with our candidates.
Save for the institutional barriers that prevented Nigerians from enjoying the change that they long for, our Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi ought to be sitting pretty as the country’s leader, while our members should by now dominate the National Assembly.
Though, we have continued to abide by the outcome of the judicial disputation that arose from the election, the Labour Party is currently doing internal appraisal of itself while at the same time reviewing the events leading to, as well as the outcome of the poll with a view to correcting some of the mistakes made for future elections.
This is being done because of the fact that our self-appointed task of removing the prevailing status quo holding the country down from its envisaged development will not be a sprint race, rather a marathon race.
The leadership of the Labour Party is constantly aware that all manner of subterfuge and machinations will clog the path of the party in its self-assigned task hence it has been ready to confront such headlong and has been doing that successfully.
Nigerians know that the Labour Party is currently battling with a series of internal and external forces all aimed at pulling it down. It is also a common knowledge that the Labour Party harbours within it, some fifth columnists that have been fighting the party from within.
These forces are also being funded and aided actively by opposition forces in government who see the party as the veritable rallying point for all change loving Nigerians.
These paid agents of the prevailing status quo have lost a series of litigations they have instituted to snatch the control of the party from the legitimate leadership under Barrister Julius Abure. When they realised that all their efforts have become futile as the people and relevant authorities have continued to shun them, they and their backers seem to have changed gears.
Currently, their new fancy is now to employ media blackmail as a tool in the never-ending game of subterfuge and sabotage. The media space has now been flooded with pseudo-public affairs analysts who have made it habitual to make commentary on issues that they know little or nothing about.
Many of these ‘analysts’ are either being paid or hoodwinked into being utilised by unpatriotic elements who are daily working and scheming to destroy the Labour Party.
In the course of plying their trade, these ‘analysts’ have been misleading the people with falsehood and half-truths in the commentary thus suggesting that the Labour Party is on the way to perdition and doom.
One major misrepresentation of events within the Labour Party is the habitual churning out of falsehood, which tends to suggests that the party is factionalised when such situation is not the case with series of judgments from the law courts affirming the Julius Abure led National Executive Committee as duly constituted to the lead the party until a new convention of the party.
These judgments have been respected by relevant institutions of state such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the likes. It is gratifying to note at this stage that these agencies have in furtherance to the judicial pronouncements been relating with the party under Barrister Julius Abure.
In exercising its powers however, the duly constituted leadership of the Labour Party has been meting out punishments that have been prescribed in law, particularly in the Labour Party Constitution to punish these disgruntled elements and that is the case as we speak.
With this in mind, it would be difficult for the Presidential Candidate of the Party to wade in and ‘settle’ the problem within the party. As such, this would amount to flagrant disobedience to the law. What has even made this difficult is the recalcitrant disposition of these elements who are hell bent in destroying Labour Party.
Though, we acknowledge that the impression these elements are giving the public is a bad show that Labour Party remains unstable and in turmoil. They aim to make the voting public find it difficult to entrust its power in future. Well! That impression will be removed in due course when the Party concludes a series of its plans to rework itself back into public reckoning.
It is happening soon. Let’s keep the faith.
.Odesanya is the publicity secretary of the Labour Party, Lagos State.
