Fresh cracks have emerged within the Labour Party following a controversial petition filed with security agencies by Abayomi Arabambi, a factional National Publicity Secretary.
Arabambi’s petition alleges that prominent figures within the party, including its 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero, Senator Victor Umeh, and members of the Nenadi Usman faction, are conspiring to stage a “coup” against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to Arabambi, the alleged coup plot is disguised as a nationwide “One-Million Man March,” a demonstration he claims is a ruse to forcibly reclaim the party’s former national secretariat in Utako, Abuja.
The allegations have been met with a fierce rebuttal from the Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party. In a statement issued by her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, the faction dismissed the claims as “malicious and desperate frame-up” aimed at blackmailing and destabilizing the opposition.
The statement clarified that the party’s leadership has no knowledge of any planned protest and has not authorized any such demonstration.
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The party also highlighted the absurdity of linking a protest over a party office to a coup plot, describing the claim as “fictitious and irresponsible.”
The Usman-led faction explained that following a Supreme Court ruling affirming their leadership, they had formally requested law enforcement to vacate the former secretariat but have since relocated to a new, more secure office due to a lack of action from the authorities.
The rebuttal also raised a more alarming concern, stating that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have already begun harassing some of its officials based on Arabambi’s petition.
The party warned that this path is a “slippery slope that endangers our democracy” and called on security agencies to “thoroughly investigate this malicious petition and unmask the true faces behind this sinister agenda.”
This is not the first time Abayomi Arabambi, who has been a central figure in the party’s internal crises, has made serious allegations against Peter Obi.
He has previously called for security agencies to investigate Obi for alleged terrorism financing and has publicly stated that Obi would be expelled from the party.
The ongoing internal conflict and these latest, grave accusations highlight the deep divisions within the Labour Party and underscore the highly volatile nature of political discourse in Nigeria.