The Labour Party (LP) has strongly refuted allegations made by Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is involved in organizing proposed nationwide protests.
Onanuga recently claimed that supporters of Obi were planning to incite unrest across Nigeria. He further labeled Obi as a failed presidential candidate, asserting that he should be held accountable for any resulting turmoil from these alleged actions.
In response, Obiora Ifoh, the Labour Party's National Publicity Secretary, issued a statement defending the party's commitment to peace. Ifoh emphasized that the party has consistently promoted peaceful conduct among its followers and denounced the allegations as unfounded.
"The attention of the Labour Party leadership has been drawn to a tweet allegedly from one of the presidential aides, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, accusing the Labour Party, its national leader Peter Obi, and numerous notable figures in our party of being involved in the proposed ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest. We categorically state that this is untrue and a product of the author's imagination," Ifoh stated.
He continued, "Labour Party is known for its peaceful nature, and we have repeatedly urged our supporters to maintain peace at all times. We are not a lawless group, as was evident following the last general election. It is therefore delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. Labour Party, Peter Obi, and our supporters are not organizing any protests."
Ifoh also highlighted the global precedent for peaceful protests being driven by citizens rather than opposition parties. "Peaceful protests worldwide are initiated and carried out by the people, not the opposition. In countries like Kenya, Egypt, and many others, popular protests were a direct expression of the people's frustration with their governments. It is within the people's constitutional right to protest."
He concluded by criticizing the current administration's tendency to deflect blame for poor governance. "It is childish for the government or anyone to start looking for who to blame for the bad governance in Nigeria today. Nigeria can improve with the right policies. We also advise that some presidential aides should be cautioned to avoid making inflammatory statements that could incite the nation under the guise of playing politics."
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