The 2023 Labour Party Vice-Presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, has not left the party.
Baba-Ahmed made this statement while addressing journalists after the party’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, which was observed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Baba-Ahmed dismissed reports insinuating that Obi had dumped the Labour Party.
“To the best of our knowledge, our brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, is still a member of the Labour Party. Nothing has changed. If he were here now, I would have shifted my seat to the left for him,” he said.
According to him, the party had survived its internal troubles, adding that the development signalled better days ahead.
He also described INEC’s attendance at the meeting as a major boost.
“The Labour Party has not reduced in any way. We have only increased in numbers. But with the submission of our leader, the National Secretary, we have gone through rough times, as is usual with political associations, and have emerged from it.
“The highlight and major turning point of this NEC meeting is the presence of INEC, which validates this sitting and justifies our presence here. As law-abiding citizens, we strictly go by what the law provides.
“This is a renewed drive for reconciliation, and I am here as a loyal party member to continue to open our arms to embrace new and existing members, to come back and reconcile with the party for the national assignment ahead of us,” he stated.
