Leaders of the Labour Party in the Southwest, on Monday, collapsed the structure of the party into the ruling All Progressives Congress, predicting that the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will not score up to 1,000 votes in the forthcoming presidential election in the zone.
The Southwest LP leaders spoke shortly before they collapsed the entire party’s structure into the ruling APC.
They accused the LP of only being in the presidential race to garner money and not to win any election.
LP Southwest leader, Omotoso Banji, who led other chieftains to join APC, described the LP as a shaky platform.
Other LP leaders who defected included the party’s chairman in Osun State, Tunde Omotunde and his Ekiti State counterpart, Alabi Adeeyo; Ondo Secretary of LP, Omowumi Olosola, and Stella Alabi from Lagos State, amongst others.
Omotoso said LP leaders in the Southwest decided to quit the party because it was not viable and lacked the political and electoral clout to win the 2023 elections.
He said, “Labour Party presently is a shaky platform for anybody to contest, Labour Party is a failure platform for anybody to contest, I don’t know Peter Obi and I’m less concerned about him but I’m concerned about those celebrating the Labour Party mediocre within Nigeria.
“In view of this, we leaders of the Labour Party in the South-West have decided to leave the party because we have a lot of mediocre there and what they are looking for is money, they are not ready to serve Nigeria.
“Labour Party is not ready to serve Nigeria and that is why we decided to leave the party and come together with the APC. I collapsed the structures of the party in Ekiti state. So, I don’t know how the Obi can come now and embarrass us here in the South-West.
“We are the pillars of that party in the South-West, and to the glory of God Almighty, we have pulled down the structures today. I was so surprised to hear from the DG of the party, Akin Osuntokun, we don’t know him in Labour Party, Akin Osuntokun is representing his own personal interest.
“So, it is better for you, Akin Osuntokun to come back to the APC and work for Bola Tinubu. I’m here to talk to you Yorubas, to please support Tinubu because he is our own. If you don’t vote for Tinubu, you’re a bastard to Yoruba land.
“We are leaving and collapsing the Labour Party structures in the entire South-West through Senator Dayo Adeyeye into APC. Nobody born of good parents in Yoruba land that will bypass Tinubu and vote for another party.”
Omotunde said they decided not to waste their time in the LP again.
“They are not after winning the election but to share the money. Politics started at the unit level. To win an election, you must start from the unit. Obi cannot go anywhere. There is no way the LP will fly. Asiwaju Tinubu will win this election.”
National Coordinator of SWAGA 2023, Dayo Adeyeye, who received the defectors, however, charged them and other APC members across the South-West to go back to their various polling units and canvass votes for Tinubu.
According to Adeyeye “Tinubu is a man of passion, action and vision, who is ready to transform this country and whether they like it or not, Tinubu is going to win.”
He urged the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to heed advice by the Council of State on the current new naira note scarcity.
The former LP leaders and members also tore their membership cards.
