APC, PDP ridicule Labour Party over the campaign list issue

How it all started: The whole drama started after the party unveiled the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation which consists of 1,234 members.

Despite initial skepticisms expressed by some members of the party, the list was made public on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, and a chieftain of the party, Dr Doyin Okupe, was announced as the Director-General of the Peter Obi/Yusuf Baba-Ahmed Presidential Campaign Council while the presidential candidate and his running mates were absent at the event.

The addition of a Lekki Massacre denier and former Army spokesperson, Major General John Enenche (retd.), into the Presidential Advisory Council of its PCC had generated some criticisms.

Critics also condemned the perceived marginalisation of other ethnic groups in favour of the South-East, this is due to the appointment of persons of Igbo extraction as state coordinators for Lagos and Sokoto States.

APC mocks Labour Party: In an interview with Saturday Punch, the Kwara State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Tajudeen Aro, declared that Labour Party lacked the structure to set up an effective presidential campaign council to be victorious in 2023.

Aro’s word: “Where will they get credible and quality members they will use for their presidential campaign? You can’t give what you don’t have. I don’t see them as a serious party that can challenge the APC.

“For the Labour Party, winning the (presidential) election is not possible because they don’t even have a presence in most states of the federation. I think what they are just doing is to create awareness of their existence and not to win election.

“To us as veteran politicians, we are not moved by their actions. You discovered that most of these young ones are just making jest of the party. They don’t have a serious crowd that will attract votes. They just make noise.”

PDP aims a dig: Also reacting to the situation, the spokesperson for the PDP in Oyo State, Akeem Olatunji, said he regarded Labour Party as an unserious party that’s only interested in publicity stunts.

He added that anyone that casts their vote for Labour Party candidates in 2023 would be wasting their votes.

Olatunji’s word: “The bottom line is structure. Does the LP have the structure? The answer is no. Anybody that is voting for the LP, either in the North or in the South-West and South-South is only going to waste his votes, and instead of wasting vote, why don’t you vote the PDP?’’

Labour Party disagrees: In his reaction, a chieftain of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, noted that both the APC and PDP can’t comprehend the operations of his party.

He also added that the controversy surrounding the PCC had been resolved and an updated list will be unveiled next week.

Arabambi’s word: “If anybody would accept the fact that there were issues in the announcement of the Campaign Council and they are now saying the party doesn’t have structure, It’s very obvious that they are confused about the parameters we use in our operations.

“We have just finished a press conference now where we agreed that there were omissions and corrections are being made, which is normal for human beings. Nigerians are yearning for a change through our presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who will deliver dividends of democracy.”