In this interview with Ben Adoga, National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, says any gang up against the emerging revolution propelled by Peter Obi’s emergence cannot stand the test of time.

The upsurge in membership of LP, especially by the youth, since Peter Obi became your presidential candidate has attracted a lot of comments, how are you managing this development?

We expected it but not to this extent; we had strategically positioned the party for days like these. We had plans that the party would one day be a big party, a party for the people, for the downtrodden and we strategically positioned ourselves to be a big player, of course, the base will be membership, this means population, we know that people will come.

But this didn’t happen until Peter Obi became your presidential candidate…
Certainly. We strategically positioned the party for this purpose, and we were looking for those to join us in actualising this, the party is a brand on its own and we are expecting others to join us. Peter Obi became an ally in this. We are coping with the phenomenal influx that is happening since Obi joined us. We are registering our members and the new influx. Very soon the National Vice Chairmen are commencing a tour of states to register all our members to align all the support groups with the structure of the party. The objective is for all those who are passionate about the project and all those who want to be part of the project not only to have the opportunity to do so but to become part and parcel of the project.

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Before now, the opposition party criticises the ruling party, but now both the ruling party and opposition are hitting the Labour Party, maybe, because of Peter Obi, as chairman of the party, how are you preparing to deal with these two big parties?

In a democracy, the greatest power you can have is for you to have the people on your side, that is what democracy is all about- the people. That is the greatest asset, and they are on our side. As we speak today, the LP and Peter Obi have the people on their side. We have the people on our side, so whatever gang-up that is perceived to be going on will amount to nothing because the people are tired of these two so-called big parties. Nigerians are tired of the PDP and the APC and are determined to do away with them because they have done us no good. For 22 years of democracy, we have nothing to show for it, all they have delivered is hunger, unemployment, insecurity, and all woes so the people are tired of them. They are merely ganging up for their exit. I can say that categorically and clearly.

You talked about the exiting of these two dominant parties, but they say your party and your candidate have no structures across the country like they have, what’s your response to this?

It brings us to the same point, that it’s human beings that are the structure of any party, when you have the people, you have the structure. We have the people and that is the structure. All this while, these two have access to public funds which they use in deceiving, inducing, and impoverishing the people saying it’s their structure, but now, the people’s candidate has emerged, and the so-called structure has changed. I want to tell them to wait till 2023 and see what our structure will do. They will know that the structure has left them, and the privilege that the people gave them has been taken away.

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Your candidate has become a movement, and the massive followership, especially by the youth is unprecedented, in all these, the party seems to be taking a back seat, and the movement is ahead of you, what’s going on?

I won’t agree with you that the movement is ahead of the party that is the reason why we are galvanising the support groups so we can speak with one voice. That’s the reason for the tour. At the moment, there is no cohesion in the movement. That is why we want to bring all the groups together. You know as a political party we have to follow INEC guidelines and rules, the movements are at liberty to organise activities and even rallies, but we as a party must be guided and monitored by INEC, we follow the INEC timetable while movements operate without such strict guidelines. We understand that we will not achieve set goals without a proper direction, that is why we have to be properly coordinated to have a direction and that’s the reason why we are bringing all the support groups together under the party structure. The movements cannot do it alone without the political party. Yes, the movements are active because of the liberty available to them, we the political party appear to be doing less, but it’s not so, we are doing a lot underground. In the weeks ahead, Nigerians will see that we are not taking the back seat. Every war is won by the generals strategising backstage not necessarily the ground troops only.

Let’s talk about ideology. Nigerians know Peter Obi and his character which has endeared him to the people, Nigerians don’t seem to know much of LP and what it stands for, how will you marry these two together?

Permit me to disagree with you that LP is not known. LP is known, we are also not new in the political space. Recall that we’ve had a shot in the government of Ondo State where we vividly showed what the party stands for. As we speak, the record of LP when we were in power in Ondo State is still unparalleled. Without sounding immodest, since Olusegun Mimiko left government in Ondo State, no government in that state has equalled his achievements. In terms of health care facilities, the WHO acclaimed the administration as the best and a model in West Africa. For now, LP is the only party that has the answer to the myriad of challenges bedevilling the country. We had not got it right all this while because Nigerians have not embraced LP. In 2023 when Nigerians embrace LP, everybody will see a change in the living standard of Nigerians and a change in the way of life of the citizens in all facets of life. It will be a remarkable difference. It will be a new down, a new era in Nigeria.

Lastly, what do you want to tell Nigerians?
Nigerians should drop APC and PDP and embrace LP, it is the only answer and solution to the problems of the country. Luckily, we have a presidential candidate that has the mental capacity, the pedigree, the reputation, the character, and the antecedent to drive the development process and reposition the country for greatness. This is exactly what the LP stands for. I charge Nigerians to embrace the party, support us and let us have a change for once and have a country where the citizens will be proud to be Nigerians. If you try something for 22 years and got no good result, common sense tells you that you needed to change your approach. It is time for Nigerians to change their approach, change APC and PDP and embrace LP and see what it offers, I assure you that the difference will be clear.