The Labour Party, LP, on Monday said Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has not added any value to the party despite his being accepted 2022 after he was rejected by virtually every other political party in Nigeria.

This is even as the Party asked President Bola Tinubu to persuade the Governor to cease from threatening the party and its leadership.

This was contained in a statement by Umar Farouk Ibrahim, National Secretary of the Labour Party.

Farouk said that Otti is on a mission to stifle life out of the Labour Party ahead of 2027 general election before making way to his already known preferred destination.

He said that the party was shocked that the governor could condescend low by describing LP’s National Chairman, Julius Abure as a ‘clown in search of a crown’.

According to Farouk, Abure was already wearing the crown before Otti met them at the party, genuflecting and wearing a humble demeanour.

He also accused Otti of ordering the arrest and detention of LP’s National Vice Chairman, Ceekay Igara, the state chairman, Prince Ndubeze and other leaders of the party for holding a lawful party meeting in Aba, Abia State.

Part of the statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee of the Labour Party has been drawn to a statement issued by Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti where he again disparaged the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure and even called for the arrest of our National Chairman. We are not only condemning this despicable action of the governor who was recently suspended by the party but are also seeking the intervention of well meaning Nigerians, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to persuade the governor from further threat to our party and the leadership.

“His recent threat to arrest Abure and the National Working Committee members for suspending him is one threat too many. We are by this statement calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rein in on the governor and to remind him that there is no place for tyranny in a democratic system. We advise Alex Otti to know that the ‘Our Lives Matter’, politics or not.

“We have repeatedly said that Governor Otti is on a mission to stifle life out of the Labour Party ahead of 2027 general election before making way to his already known preferred destination. If not, why would a governor who has absolute cooperation with the leadership of his party at the centre, a governor who has publicly told the world that God used Abure to make him the governor, suddenly vacillate and somersaulted, and by so doing, unleashed an unnecessary crisis in his own party, where he once called the shots.”