Following the event at the tribunal on Thursday, where the court reprimanded Obi and the Labour Party for lack of preparedness in their petitions and subsequently stepped down from the hearing, the faction provided the advice on Friday, June 2, 2023.
Abayomi Arabambi, the faction’s national publicity secretary, said at a press conference on Friday in Abuja that the incident supported their claim that Obi was not taking his court case seriously.
Arabambi further said that since the PEPT hearings started, the Labour Party presidential candidate had yet to produce any specific evidence to support his assertions. She claimed that Obi and his cohorts were out to thwart the will of the Nigerian people, who had freely supported the party.
“We have, like many Nigerians, come to the conclusion that Obi is not only taking Nigerians for a ride but would continue to waste the hard-earned resources donated by Nigerians for this purpose even to enrich himself the more,” he said. “We have followed with keen interest the shameful developments and approach by the so-called legal team assembled by Peter Obi challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Those of you here who have been following this matter can remember that INEC said that Peter Obi could not pay for CTC form EC08 and other paperwork on the day we got into a fight in court with (Julius) Abure’s group. They were now forced to present 30% of the materials they would have needed for the Election Petition Tribunal hearing.
“How would any right-thinking individual appear before an election tribunal with only 30% of the necessary documentation when no other political parties would accept or consent to submit any of them?”
“Two of their counsels were reportedly unwell three days ago, and yesterday (Thursday), they were unable to submit even a single process with the variety of SANs with Obi. We have been asserting that they are merely attempting to mislead the general public, deceive the Obidients, and give them false hope that they have anything at the tribunal.
“That is clear from the approach they adopted when they informed INEC in a letter that Obi was unable to pay N1.5 million. Who are they lying to? Was Counsel ill?
We have argued repeatedly that Obi is not a genuine threat because of this. He didn’t bring anything to the gathering or contribute to the party, the election, or any of the party’s activities. He merely came to disrupt everything and fool Nigerians into thinking he has something to provide them.
Hence, the Labour Party requests that he put aside his egotistical desire and refrain from causing trouble inside the party if he has no significant evidence to bring before the tribunal.
