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Edo Guber: LP Chair, Abure Speaks On Alleged Imposition, As US-based Businessman Joins Race

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The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has vowed not to impose any candidate on the teeming supporters of the party and people of Edo ahead of next year’s governorship election in the state.

Abure made the pledge when he received a delegation led by United States-based businessman, Stephen Osemwegie, who visited the party headquarters in Abuja on Friday to officially indicate interest in joining the governorship race on the platform of LP.

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While addressing the audience, the national chairman stated that he has no intention of taking sidess or anointing a candidate.

This was even as he promised to give a level playing field to every aspirant ahead of the party’s primary, which date has yet to be announced.

READ ALSO: 2024 Guber: Diaspora APC Interested In Taking Edo Back – Chairman

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He said, “We are going to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants. There will be equal treatment in the primaries, which will be a competitive one. As national chairman of the party, though I hail from Edo state, I want to state here categorically that I will not have an anointed candidate.

“As I said, I will not impose any aspirant or candidate on party members. It is the delegates and party members in Edo that will determine who becomes the flag bearer in the state. I therefore want to reassure my own brother who has come to indicate his interest today that he will have a level playing field.

“We are going to look for the best among party members. Then we will pool our resources, energy, and efforts together to ensure that the person we choose performs. The purpose of doing that is to ensure that at every point in time when he derails, we will be able to hold him accountable.”

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The lawyer-turned-politician, however, counseled the governorship aspirant to go back to the grassroots and reach out to stakeholders at the unit, ward, and state levels in Edo State.

READ ALSO: Photo: Tinubu Meets Ambode In Aso Rock

According to him, politics is played at the local level and not at the centre as many naive politicians often think.

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Abure, who lamented that the state has always been blessed with leaders who had no genuine interest in the people, expressed optimism that his party will change the narrative after clinching the seat at the 2024 governorship poll.

“There is no doubt that we have been unfortunate to produce leaders who have not worked for the Edo people. I said so because if you take a cursory look at our history, even during military government in Nigeria, Edo has been unfortunate to get administrators who were not from that place. We have seen over the years that both the APC and PDP lack internal democracy.

“We have strategically positioned the party to be the one that will rescue Edo State. It is not by accident. It is by design. Only a Labour Party government in the state will be able to reposition Edo for greatness and restore the past glory that it was known for. We have started the walk and believe strongly that with the right candidate, personnel, and strategy, we will be able to reclaim the state on the path of growth and development.

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“I have no doubt in my mind that Edo people will do the right thing. When a PDP government did not perform before 2006, the Edo people rose to the occasion and change the government. This is another time for change and I am confident it is the turn of the Labour Party. LP has always believed that when the process used in selecting candidates is faulty; it can never produce good leaders,” he said.

READ ALSO: 2023 Polls: LP Demands Forensic Investigation Of N300bn, Donor Funds

Reacting to the warm welcome, Osemwegie promised not to disappoint the party and the people of Edo State.

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The United States-based businessman affirmed that the problem of governance at both the state and federal levels boils down to the failure of leaders to do the right thing.

“I think the problem we have in Nigeria, as Chinua Achebe said, is failing leadership. We have a situation in our country where we have resources without potential. We are still lagging in every metric. In Edo where I hail from, we have about eight million people but the unemployment level is appalling.

“I will talk more about some of these issues as we go on with our campaign. I have come up with a new direction and a new vision. Whatever we were doing before has not worked. You cannot continue doing the same thing and expect a different result. It is time for us to do something different, especially through the Labour Party. I have come to notice that what we lack over the years has been honesty, integrity, transparency, and an attitude of compassion for the people

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“Today, I have come to pay a courtesy visit to the chairman and members of the National Working Committee of the party. I have been a very active member of the Diaspora support group of the Labour Party, especially in New York, where we ensure people turn up with their votes and vote right,” he said.
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VIDEO: How Peter Obi Betrayed Me – Kenneth Okonkwo In New Interview

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Veteran actor and ex-spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of betrayal in the wake of internal party disputes.

In a viral interview with Symfoni which started trending on Saturday, Okonkwo, who officially exited the Labour Party in February 2025, revealed that Obi went against his advice and returned to support the embattled Julius Abure-led faction of the party, despite alleged warnings.

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According to him, Obi was misled by LP executives who claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission had recognised them.

He said, “Any politician that knows what he’s doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anybody that betrayed the other, I can say it emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me.

READ ALSO: Nigeria No Longer A Democracy, Peter Obi Laments

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“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them and Obi surreptitiously went back to them but I told him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity and even if INEC has accepted them, that is not a criterion for you to go back and start dealing with them because they have shown that they are not democratic. If you go back to them, they will destroy your political career and everything you have said about integrity will die.’”

He said that despite privately urging Obi not to align with a group he described as “undemocratic” and “agents of the government,” Okonkwo said Obi went ahead to publicly endorse them.

“I told Obi that these people had become agents in the hands of the government to destabilise him. What they did was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional, I told him that if he went back to them, I wouldn’t join him in doing so.

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“Thereafter, I called all the people that were in the inner circle and told them the same thing about what Obi was trying to do. I told them he wanted to go back with the Abure people and if he did, I wouldn’t go back with him because I do not swallow back my words.

READ ALSO: Teen Who Stood In Front Of Peter Obi’s Convoy Freed After Months In Kirikiri

“And after saying all those things, within like 72 hours, Obi went back to Abure’s office to publicly endorse them and while he was there talking to them, one of the leaders in that executive sent me the video to mock me that the person I was fighting for against them has come to their office to endorse them.

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“It was when INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi came out to start acting neutral but I told him he could not be neutral and something had to be done,” he added.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis, with opposing factions laying claim to the party’s national structure.

The Abure-led faction has faced allegations of financial mismanagement and anti-democratic practices, which critics say contradict the party’s reformist image.

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Okonkwo, a known loyalist of Obi’s political ideology, cited these irregularities as his reason for quitting the party earlier in the year.

Watch video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202

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Amaechi Slams Tinubu’s Policies In Fresh Outburst

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Former Minister of Transportation and two-time governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the coalition opposition to kick President Bola Tinubu out of office if Nigeria is to escape its deepening economic crisis.

In a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, Amaechi, a founding member and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, lamented the country’s deteriorating condition and signalled his willingness to help forge a new opposition coalition to rescue the nation.

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People are dying. People are starving. I myself am feeling the effects of hunger,” he said, painting a grim picture of life under the current administration.

Amaechi’s statement comes in the wake of the APC’s recent endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027, a move Amaechi openly questioned.

READ ALSO: I Don’t Want To Join Issues With Children, Amaechi Hits Back At Wike

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While reiterating his loyalty to the party, he warned that fidelity to a political platform should never come at the cost of national conscience.

If the government is failing the country, you don’t just go along because you’re in the same party. You know that’s not right,” he stated emphatically.

Though he stopped short of confirming a 2027 presidential bid, the former minister said the option remained on the table.

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“Certainly, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution,” he added, hinting that his political journey may not yet be over.

READ ALSO: Democracy Day: Gov. Mohammed Advocates Unity, Good Governance

He spoke of widespread poverty, spiralling food insecurity, and daily tragedies that now dot the national landscape.

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Reflecting on his years as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi lamented that the number of out-of-school children then pegged at 10 million, had since ballooned.

The economic hardship, he said, had also deepened insecurity.

“The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a religious crisis. Many of those involved are driven by desperation and hunger,” he asserted, linking terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping to a broader socioeconomic collapse.

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Amaechi’s declaration added momentum to an emerging political realignment.

 

Talks were already underway among key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as they explored the possibility of a unified front against Tinubu in 2027.

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Even ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and once a key Tinubu ally had signalled interest in backing an opposition alliance.

But as opposition forces stir, the ruling party continues to absorb defectors, prompting fears of Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state, a scenario Amaechi warned could undermine democracy and silence dissent.

We’re thinking that if we come together and win the election, the country will certainly witness change,” he said, suggesting an urgent need for a credible alternative.

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UNN Best Graduate Wins £33,000 Com

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A student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s with the overall best graduating CGPA of 4.98, Chizoba Ejiofor, has secured a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship.

Education advocate and tech entrepreneur Alex Onyia, who made this known on social media on Thursday, said he had taken responsibility for supporting Ejiofor after the university failed to award him the promised N50,000 prize for academic excellence.

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I have a good news. A very good news. You remember Chizoba Ejiofor, who graduated as UNN overall best graduating student with CGPA of 4.98, that UNN refused to fulfill the N50k price promised to him?

READ ALSO: Crisis Brews In UNN As Court Restrains Varsity From Conducting Convocation Election

“I took him up as a full responsibility. We started working tirelessly together since last year to secure a fully funded scholarship, and today we have the good news,” Onyia wrote.

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Onyia revealed that Ejiofor was awarded a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship, valued at over £33,000. The package includes tuition, flight tickets, and monthly stipends.

This is fully funded scholarship from Commonwealth. Over 33 thousand pounds in scholarship, flight tickets and monthly stipends inclusive. No one can describe how happy and fulfilled I am today,” he added.

 

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