The National Chairman of the Labour Party and Former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman has called on aggrieved members of the party to return and work together in the interest of unity and progress.
She emphasised the need for reconciliation within the party, stating that the leadership is extending an olive branch to members who may feel dissatisfied or sidelined.
She said this while discussing the Labour Party’s 2027 agenda and its national convention with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday.
“First, I believe our strength is in coming back together, making peace among ourselves, and letting everyone know we are still a family. So, for those who are aggrieved, we’re extending the olive branch to them to please come back, let’s work together, let’s build our party,” she urged.
Adding, the Senator explained why the LP had to postpone its planned national convention.
“Secondly, we had to postpone our congresses. We should have started this March, but we just had to postpone it for about 20-something days. So, we are starting on the 23rd of April, by the grace of Almighty God, and our national convention is expected to be on the 28th of April in Umuahia, by the grace of God. We have only one governor, and he’s doing well, so we want to have it in his city where we’ll celebrate with him as well,” she said.
Responding to questions on how the party intends to reconcile with the aggrieved faction, Usman said the leadership remains open to dialogue and peaceful resolution.
“We are still inviting them to come, let’s sit down at the table and discuss. Even when nations go to war, which most of the time is even uncalled for, in the end, after a lot of collateral damage has been sustained, they still come back to the table to discuss. So, we’re inviting them: please come, let’s sit down, let’s talk. It’s not about you, it’s not about me, it’s about the party.”
Addressing the decision to zone the party’s presidential candidacy to the South, Usman explained that the move was guided by the need to promote peace and unity in the country.
“I think it’s more about having peace in the nation. It’s only when you have a nation at peace that you can decide who becomes the president. If the nation is not at peace, people are not happy, then you wouldn’t even want to talk about who should be a president. For me and my team, when we talked among ourselves, we didn’t want to pitch the country into North versus South,” she explained.
She added: “One of the things we need to do is to ensure that all Nigerians believe they have that equal opportunity to lead the country at some point. This brings me to why I love the Labour Party. Remember, one of the key foundational stones of the party is equal opportunity, and the other is social justice. So for us, if we want to walk the talk—we’re not just talking, but we want to act as we do—then we must ensure that social justice and equal opportunity are what we should watch out for.”
Senator Usman revealed that the current face of the Labour Party is Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State.
“Governor Alex Otti is the leader of the party at the moment. Governor Otti is the leader of the party, and of course, we still have members in the National Assembly, but there is always only one leader at any particular time. His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, was the leader; he has left. We have a new leader, Governor Alex Otti,” she shared.
Addressing concerns about the party’s chances ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Usman said the LP is currently focused on resolving its internal issues and restoring unity before discussing potential candidates.
“Well, for now, just like I said, first, we want to make peace within the party, and I believe we’re going to achieve that in the next couple of weeks. That’s number one. Number two, we don’t have any preferred candidate that we have dusted and kept. We are leaving it open; everybody is invited to come. If you want to run and you are from the South, you are invited. For a party to sustain itself and not die, if I could use that word, internal democracy has to be very key in whatever we do, and we intend to make sure that internal democracy is sustained in the Labour Party,” Sen. Usman said.
Senator Usman also clarified that the LP is not currently in discussions with any political party regarding a coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
“No, we are not negotiating any coalitions with anyone. Because if you remember the other time when major gladiators came together, the coalition was actually among people, not political parties. That’s why there wasn’t any merger, if you remember. It was just people coming together to say they want a coalition, and they came together and had been working together. Then they decided to join one political party, which is the ADC. So, we are not in talks at the moment with any political party for any merger,” she revealed.
Usman insisted that the Labour Party is not weak, pointing to its unique structure with workers’ and trade union affiliations and other institutional members.
“I want to mention something: the party is not weak. All we need is just to put our acts together. Our party is a very unique party; it’s the only party that has workers’ unions, trade unions—they are affiliates. It’s the only party that has that kind of structure. It’s the only party that has institutional members.”
The LP National Chairman noted that while the LP looked strong in 2023, it was internally weak due to a lack of polling unit agents. She added that the party is now strengthening its internal structures with unions and committed members.
“In 2023, the party seemed to be stronger from outside, but internally, they didn’t strengthen it, which is why in the end, we didn’t have polling unit agents in every polling unit. So you see, the party looked strong at that time, but internally it was weak. Now, externally the party may look weak, but internally it is getting stronger. But all that has changed now. They know the party is ours together, and they are willing to work hard to make sure that we build the party and give it strength internally. So, don’t worry about what you see on the outside; on the inside is what we’re working on, so that next time we would make sure that we have agents in every polling unit,” she assured.
Usman also said the party is considering both direct and consensus primaries, with direct primaries offering women greater opportunities to contest.
“We are considering both options. Some want a direct one, but you know the direct method is quite expensive. It has its advantages and it has its disadvantages. For me as a woman, I would like direct or consensus because I believe more women would be able to have access to contest elections—to get tickets for their political parties.”
Urging Nigerians to take the Labour Party seriously, Sen. Usman highlighted its clear ideologies and widespread presence across the country.
She said: “Well, they need to take the Labour Party serious because as I told you, the Labour Party has clear-cut ideologies which some parties do not even have. We have clear-cut ideologies, and there is nowhere in this country—no ward, no polling unit—that you go that you will not get a member of the Labour Party, either by being a serving civil servant, nurse, midwife, or trader. We have members in every polling unit in this country.”
Dismissing claims of a backdoor plan for Peter Obi to return to LP, Usman said electoral rules bar candidates from switching parties after submitting registration materials to INEC.
” If you look at the Act now, it may not be possible for him to join another political party because remember you have to submit your e-register and even the hard copies in a big ‘Ghana-Must-Go,’ you print them and take them to INEC. And once that is done, once you have submitted, any other person who joins before that election, you know he cannot contest in that election,” she stated.
Speaking on financing issues for LP, Usman said the party has financially capable members who are ready to support its activities when needed, rather than relying solely on Gov. Otti.
“We have members who I would say have deep pockets, whom you may not know because we have not paraded them in front. And they are willing, when the time comes, they are willing to help us out financially. Our governor alone cannot do it all. So, I believe that we don’t want to put him in a very tight spot by expecting too much from him; let’s allow him to work for the people as he has been working. That is fine. But our sponsors, they are there and they are waiting. When we say, ‘Let’s move,’ they would drop,” she confirmed.
Usman expressed confidence that the Labour Party is unlikely to face another major internal crisis, noting that prolonged court battles have left members exhausted.
“First and foremost, I don’t foresee us having any big hit again because—is it not to go to court? They have been going to court, and we’ll see the case—I think even today we are supposed to be at the Court of Appeal because Abure appealed the other judgment. So, I don’t see it going much further the way it is going because everybody is tired. Everybody is getting weak, including me, of jumping from one court to the other.
“So, the time has come now, and we have all agreed the time has come for us to sit together on the table, discuss, and move ahead so that our party survives and we’re able to develop it,” she said.
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