The Factional National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, responded to the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, on Friday, asserting that Otti’s current position was due to the leadership of the Labour Party.
Abure made these remarks during an emergency meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee at the Labour Party secretariat in Abuja. His response came after Otti’s appearance earlier that day on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where the governor claimed that the Labour Party had reclaimed control from Abure, accusing him of “masturbating” over claims that he was still in charge.
Otti had said, “This is a democracy, and sometimes you must stand for something. I can’t say I wouldn’t leave the Labour Party; what if the party is non-existent tomorrow? The party that brought me to power is Labour. Okay. Today we have fought and retrieved the Labour Party. I will send you the Supreme Court judgment, and when you finish reading it, you will know that Abure is just masturbating.”
In response, Abure stated that Otti owed his current position to the Labour Party leadership. He said, “It is only appropriate at this point to respond to him so he doesn’t think he is the only one who can speak. As mature leaders of this party who believe in the development of this country, we made them. Without sounding immodest, we made Governor Alex Otti. We supported him, made sacrifices, rejected bribes and offers, just so he could become the governor he is today. Yet today, he goes on national television to misinform the public about the Supreme Court judgment.”
Abure also expressed his concern about Otti’s use of inappropriate language, noting, “My major concern was his foul language, saying he was laughing at us for holding on to the party leadership and ‘masturbating’ over it. Dwarfy and Lilliputian men were once considered men of great ideas. But Alex Otti is not only dwarfy in appearance—he is dwarfy in knowledge.”
According to Abure, the Supreme Court’s ruling made it clear that matters of party leadership are internal and governed by the party’s constitution. He added, “It is clear. When the Supreme Court says leadership is a domestic affair of the party, what does it mean? Even a layman knows that the party’s constitution is supreme.”
Abure then called Otti a “jester,” expressing his embarrassment over the governor’s actions. He said, “I am embarrassed to see the governor join other party renegades in submitting the court ruling to the Independent National Electoral Commission. See how a whole governor reduced himself to carrying the Supreme Court CTC, thinking he could intimidate and harass INEC. But we know INEC is a civilised institution guided by law and procedure.”
He concluded by stating that Otti no longer represented the values of the Labour Party. He remarked, “I want to state clearly that Otti does not represent the values of our party. We told Nigerians in 2023 that the Labour Party would produce leaders who are different. We said a new Nigeria is possible. But today, what are we seeing?”
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