A group in the Labour Party (LP) led by Julius Abure has blamed Peter Obi, the party’s former presidential candidate, for the leadership crisis currently affecting the party.

Umar Ibrahim, the national secretary on Abure’s side, made this statement on Tuesday. He was replying to Obi’s recent claim that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was behind the troubles in the Labour Party.

Ibrahim said that Obi’s statement was not true. He insisted that the problems in the party were not caused by the APC but by bad leadership from within. He specifically blamed Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti.

He explained that the crisis was not something created by the ruling party. According to him, Obi and Otti are responsible for the troubles and pointed out that Governor Otti is currently suspended for working against the party.

Ibrahim also challenged Obi to provide any proof showing that Abure’s leadership was working with the APC government. He said there is no evidence of such cooperation.

He added that true leaders must admit when they make mistakes. He believes Obi failed to guide the party and should take responsibility instead of blaming others.

Abure’s faction also said Obi and Otti are damaging the party’s reputation by always claiming outside forces are involved. They described this behavior as harmful to the party.

The group told Obi and other dissatisfied members to accept that Julius Abure is now the party leader. They said his leadership is solid and will not be changed.

Finally, Ibrahim said it was confusing for Obi to accuse Abure’s team of working with the APC. He reminded everyone that this same leadership helped Obi during the 2023 elections and strongly opposed the ruling party at that time.