National Treasurer of the Labour Party, Mrs Oluchi Opara, speaks to The PUNCH’s AYOOLA OLASUPO about her six-month suspension from the party, and the corruption allegation against the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, among other issues

The National Working Committee of your party suspended you for six months. Do you think the suspension was justified?

Everybody knows it wasn’t justified because they only did that to cover their ills from the public because the allegations out there are clear and loud. Julius Abure should tell us that all the allegations of corruption levelled against him are false. He should just come out clearly and say that I’ve lied against him instead of trying to jump to a conclusion. But the good thing is I’ve also sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission so that they can investigate the account. Again, Mr Peter Obi has also come out to say that the account will be thoroughly investigated hence the reason Julius Abure has been trying to suspend him from the party.

Are you saying that Julius Abure was trying to suspend Peter Obi?

That is the news out there because nothing is hidden. We all heard that he had been trying to do that. He has been trying to use the members of state executives. I mean the state chairmen. They’re trying to tell them that their jobs will be taken hence the reason why they all needed to come up together and stand and fight. Again, fighting for what? The allegations are clear. The allegations were too weighty to face, but he is going by the cunning way and trying to cut corners by trying to cover them. Those tracks will not be covered.

There are allegations of corruption against Abure, but the 36 state chairmen of your party dismissed the claim. Do you think the chairmen were only trying to protect him or what are your thoughts about this?

Since they know what I do not know. The matter is before the Federal High Court. When the time is right, they will be called to tell me what they know that I do not know because I see no reason. After all, they’re not in any position to clear anybody of any allegation. The allegation is based on forgery, and I am the only authority that can speak on this issue. But since they say he (Abure) did not steal and forge, that means they know what I don’t know. So, when the time is right, they will face the court to tell the court whether they know what I do not know.

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Being the national treasurer of the party, does that mean that Abure sidelined you in the process of some of the party’s financial activities?

As the national treasurer, my role is anything or everything about money. Any money that goes out and comes in must pass through me even when he (Abure) said on national television that be it cash or of transfer and everything, I’m supposed to, by the virtue of my position, receive alerts to know what is happening. Yes, he sidelined me and did not use the money for the purpose it was meant for. He has done a whole lot of harm to the image of our party. Let me set the record clear; for over seven months, I have not handled a cheque. So, if he is saying that I’ve signed a cheque with him, the public should ask him where he got the person who signed the cheque with him.

If you’ve not been handling the cheque for the last seven months, then who has been signing on behalf of the national treasurer?

That is the question we all need to ask Julius Abure.

There are several reports that the suspension was because you challenged Abure to account for some money raised from the sale of nomination forms and fundraising in the build-up to the 2023 general elections. What are your thoughts about that?

I’m challenging him on account of everything that he has withdrawn from the party’s account. The Labour Party is an institution that has a life of its own. It is not Abure’s chambers; it is not Abure and Brothers Limited. It is an institution on its own. Every amount of money that comes in for the party should not be mismanaged. Check all the accounts. The Labour Party, as I speak, we do not have a secretariat of our own. We still pay rent where we are. Let me shock Nigerians; two months after the general election and with all the money we have got, Abure has been begging people to help us with the salaries of N1.6m monthly. That is from a party that got billions of naira.

Where on earth has it ever happened that after that huge amount made, you are still begging to pay salaries? It doesn’t make sense. I want to state also that during the off-cycle elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa States, Peter Obi appealed that if we wanted to set our records clear and stand out as a political party with a lot of integrity, we should come down on our nomination forms. We all agreed to give back their N10m to people who acquired the form, but I want to tell you that as I speak, a lot of people’s money is still hanging. Now that people have gone to court on this money issue and the money is not in their accounts, what happened to the money?

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You also claimed that Abure did not remit the donations received from Nigerians in the Diaspora during Peter Obi’s campaign tour in the United States. What evidence do you have to back up your claim?

When he was set to leave the country, he printed a banner saying he was going on a US tour to raise money for the party, I also went online, and I saw those things.

Who printed the banner? Was it Abure or Peter Obi?

I’m talking about Abure, not Peter Obi. He (Abure) printed some fliers, not banners; talking about his US tour to raise money for the party, and I also went online and saw the website where they were doing the ticketing. Some people paid $2000, $1500, $500, $550, $100, and $75 for seats. Just convert it to naira you will know how much I’m talking about. On his return, I asked him, ‘Can we know how much you raised in the name of the party?’ He has not responded to it, and I’m reliably informed from one of those in the Diaspora that they helped him with the money that has been mismanaged.

What other steps did you take after he (Abure) allegedly refused to give an account of the money he (Abure) raised during the tour when you confronted him?

We’ve been meeting on all the issues regarding finances. On several occasions, Mr Peter Obi was on the ground to meet with us and asked Abure to do the needful, to open up the book of record so that we would start from there. But because he is a respecter of nobody, he feels he is the owner of the Labour Party and that nothing can come out of it. Let Abure come out and say he has not been using a third-party account to take money from the party.

Does that mean that other members of the National Working Committee of the party are also aware of the situation at hand?

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Yes, they are aware of the situation at hand. Maybe it is because Abure has always told them that he is the only one who can bring them back to the NWC; so, they all keep quiet, but I ask again, ‘Of what use will their coming back to the NWC be if they cannot make use of this opportunity to speak the truth and lead by example? Why are they trying to cover the corruption that has eaten deep under them?

How will you react to the speculation raised by some of your party members that you were a mole being used by dissidents in the party?

They are always quick at disseminating false information. What do you expect of a person who Abure handpicked? Talking about Obiora Ifoh, who was brought into the party because he was Abure’s aide and not even a top member of the LP. He was handpicked to do that. How would they say that one is a mole? They always say that to misinform Nigerians whenever one is digging up the truth. The facts are there for them to handle. Many of them are just trying to shift the attention of the public, and that is why they can come out to call me a mole. How can you call someone a mole when the person has not handled the cheque for the past seven months? I was there for the past 10 years, and I wasn’t a mole but because we are trying to follow the footsteps of Mr Peter Obi, who preaches, accountability, integrity, and transparency; now, one is called a mole. No, they are the moles deceiving Nigerians.

With the six-month suspension, do you have plans to defect to another political party?

I have no plan whatsoever to do that. As I said, the matter is before the Federal High Court. What they did was without a fair hearing, and by my right, I am supposed to be given a fair hearing. They were trying to deceive the public and cover their ills. So, that is why they did what they did. Before the Federal High Court, I’ve also sued the EFCC to let them probe Abure and all his cronies.

But a statement was issued that you did not honour the invitation given to you by the party’s NWC to resolve the conflict. How will you react to this?

They are a bunch of liars. I can even send you screenshots of the message sent; and what they sent on the general platform to which I responded. First of all, they summoned themselves to Abuja, they met and never called me. Then after a peace meeting, they summoned me to appear before the disciplinary committee, which I saw and responded to immediately, and I said to them in my response that I wasn’t in Abuja, that I left Abuja. Again, instead of appearing before them by 10am, my flight was scheduled to land in Abuja by 2:30pm of that same day, and I humbly appeal it should be moved from 10am to 4pm of that same day. But before noon of that same day, because they already had a plan to do what they did, before noon, I felt so embarrassed that the media started calling me that Abure had gone ahead to do the worse. They are just masters at disseminating wrong information. They do that a lot.

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Some people were saying that the corruption allegation against Abure might be swept under the carpet. Do you agree with such views?

I don’t want to agree to that because as it is now, the matter is before the Federal High Court, and EFCC has already been sued to do their work. I don’t want to believe that it is going to be swept under the carpet.

Recently, some members of your party in Edo State defected to the All Progressives Congress. Will you say that the present crisis in the party inspired their defection?

How can Abure who calls himself a National Chairman be making matters worse? I said Abure was planning to do a parallel primary in Edo State. He has warned that he must have his way against the people’s choice.

What did other members of the NWC do to stop him from bringing up the parallel election?

We were watching to see how it would play out, but I tell you that Abure will bring them back during the convention. That is why it appears as though some of them are keeping quiet and playing to the gallery.

Don’t you think this (the defection) will have implications on the performance of the party in the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State?

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I am not even aware that anybody defected but if there was any defection, it was on the account of Abure’s poor management. The party itself does not have any issue but the drive of the party which is Abure himself is the person that is corrupt and must be made to step aside. If we truly want to get it right in Edo State, Abure needs to step aside so that the right thing can be done. Having Abure there will amount to us not wanting to do the right thing.

Some armed policemen recently arrested Abure. What do you feel about his arrest?

When that happened, a lot of people were calling me thinking it was me. No, it wasn’t me. Abure has been in a whole lot of mess. Everybody has almost one or two issues against Abure and he has found himself in a whole lot of mess trying to spoil the name of the party.

Looking at the current economic situation of the country, what do you think the Federal Government can do to alleviate the hardship?

We are all feeling the bite, the heat of this whole thing. I use this opportunity to call on Mr President to listen to Nigerians’ cries. We are finding it very difficult. When he came up, the first thing he gave us was fuel subsidy removal and since then, we’ve not had a breath of fresh air. Even with the high pump price of fuel, there is no food anywhere. I will appeal to his conscience that a lot of people are suffering. People are dying on the streets out of hunger. He should look inward and not bring untold hardship to the Nigerian people. He should look inward to ameliorate what is happening because it is not funny anymore, and people are carrying out protests to let him understand that things are not the way they are supposed to be.

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