Two governorship candidates and a House of Representatives candidate have called for the prosecution of the Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, for alleged forgery.
The aggrieved candidates are the party’s governorship candidate for Ebonyi State, Splendour Eze; Edo House of Representatives candidate, Murphy Imasuen and Plateau State governorship candidate, Yohana Mangif.
Abure was arrested along with the Edo Chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi, in Benin on Wednesday.
He has since been released on bail.
Abure has been having running battles with some members of the party in the state over allegations of substituting candidates in the 2023 general election without the consent of the affected aspirants, an allegation he had denied.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Eze appealed to the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to ensure that Abure is brought to justice.
Armed with court documents and affidavits, the three candidates lamented how Abure had allegedly forged their signatures and written letters of withdrawal to the Independent National Electoral Commission to replace their candidacy.
Eze said, “They forged my signature on a withdrawal letter falsely indicating my voluntary withdrawal from the electoral race. This forged letter was then submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission to facilitate an illegal substitution of my candidacy.
“I was left in utter shock when I eventually got wind of the reprehensible actions. I sued the party and INEC to the Federal High Court Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
“The judgment came in my favour. The judge consequently set aside the illegal substitution primary and directed INEC to publish my name in her portal. Abure and his cohort were not satisfied with this judgment.
“Consequently, they appealed it in the Court of Appeal Enugu in Enugu State. Their suit was dismissed. Still not satisfied with the judgment of Court of Appeal, they went to Supreme Court Abuja. Their suit was further dismissed. Subsequently, I petitioned the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal investigation Division in Abuja, which triggered a comprehensive police investigation.”
According to him, those who seek to subvert the electoral process and undermine the integrity of the nation’s democracy must be held accountable for their actions.
“The police recommendation for criminal charges against the chairman and others must be treated with the urgency and diligence it deserves. We must send a strong message that our democracy cannot flourish where internal party processes are corrupted and electoral integrity is recklessly subverted. I kindly implore you to use your highly esteemed office to ensure that charges are filed against Mr. Abure and others without further delay,” he said.
But when reminded that Abure had once referred to them as ‘place holders’ at a conference held at the secretariat last year, the candidates kicked.
“I paid N43m to become the party’s candidate for House of Representatives in Edo. Gentlemen, could I have paid N43m to be a place holder for LP?” Imasuen queried.
Eze said, “What we have in the Electoral Act are ‘aspirant’ and ‘candidate.’ The word ”place holder’ did not appear there.”
Reacting, National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, labelled the aggrieved candidates as dissidents who are out to foment trouble in the party.
While insisting that Eze, Imasuen and Mangif were place holders, the LP spokesman claimed they were not asked to pay a dime before they were handed the temporary tickets.
He said, “I have said it countless times that these three guys from Edo, Ebonyi and Plateau are not our candidates. These people are Lamidi Apapa boys.
“What happened was that the party gave them governorship tickets as place holders, which is done everywhere. They didn’t even pay one kobo for it.
“If Imasuen claimed he paid for it, let him show you the evidence. I am telling you they didn’t pay one dime. So when the party now got credible candidates for the positions, they were asked to step down and activate the placeholder’s agreement. If they claim we forged the signature in the withdrawal letter, did we also forge the one in the form they filled? Those guys are working for Apapa faction to destabilise our party.”
Chief Spokesman for Labour Party Campaign Organisation, Yunusa Tanko, also shared his sentiment.
According to him, it would be petty for anybody to think Abure will stoop so low to forge any party member’s signature.
“The truth is that Abure cannot just sit and forge people’s signatures. Those guys were place holders who wanted to be returned as substantive officers in charge. That in fact caused most of the problems they have with Abure,” he stated.
