The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, in this interview with Ben Ogbemudia, speaks on money politics and how prepared the party is for the forthcoming general elections

How prepared is LP for the 2023 general elections?

We are ready. The campaign materials are ready. We are ready intellectually and physically. We have flagged off our campaign as you saw in Lafia, Nasarawa State. On November 9, we were in Benue State. On November 10, we were in Abia, while on November 11, we hit Benin City. That was why I travelled on Thursday to see how I can galvanise the people ahead of the task before us as a political party. This is my state I cannot afford to fail. I should get 100 per cent from my people. That was why I stayed back to mobilise my people and energise them towards Edo’s rally. Going through our itinerary, shows you clearly that we are ready. I want to say very clearly that our programmes are the most robust. All the challenges confronting the country have been articulated and discussed. Even as I speak here I can articulate the programme that we believe can turn the fortunes of the country around.

Can you let us into your programmes as a political party?

Like we have always done. All our campaigns will be centred on the issues of insecurity, unity of the country, economy, education, health, etc. We are ready and we have commenced the process of mobilising the people. The very beautiful thing about the Labour Party campaign this time is that this is the first time you will be having campaigns driven by the people.

Could this be the dreams of the founding fathers of the party?

Of course, it has been the dream of the founding fathers of LP which I am part of. Right from the inception of the party, I was there. We had this dream and this vision to have a party that would be people driven. To have a party that would be people funded. To have a party that the people would dictate what they want because part of the challenge that we have in this country is that all other political parties, the dominant ones, so to say, are controlled by moneybags, godfathers. These godfathers dictate who gets what in those political parties. Therefore, they recruit their cronies, competence, integrity, and character are all compromised by the godfathers. So, we have had this dream of having a party that would be people-oriented. Because we believe very strongly that if the party is driven by the people and funded by them then the people would be at liberty to pick the best candidate that would represent the party and therefore the country will have the best. The numerous challenges that we have in the country are because we have no internal democracy in the other political parties. They pick anybody to be in the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, and even Governors. Therefore, they have no mind of their own and are unable to act in the interest of the country. They act in the interest of the godfathers. That’s one of the reasons we have numerous challenges in the country.

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Will you say that Peter Obi is the best for the party?

With all the indices in place, we didn’t have any problem picking Peter Obi as our best bet for the Presidency. As it stands out today, LP parades the best of candidates. Some of them are fresh. The old ones we have are those without baggage. They have no criminal records. Are not under investigation by security agencies. As we speak today, Nigeria is not working for Nigerians. We are going to be involved in roadshows, town hall meetings, etc. We are going to take our campaigns to the nooks and crannies of this country. In all aspects we are ready.

You alleged politicians stockpiling money to buy votes, including your party?

It is well known that our slogan is we don’t give ‘shishi’. Part of the challenges that we have in the country is that we allow people who have stolen our resources to also use those resources against the people. They have used it over time to continue to emasculate us, continue to enslave us, and put us in perpetual poverty. The greatest joy in this development is that the people have realised that they have been cheated all along. They are moving away from that situation. People steal money and when elections come they come with bags of rice, N5, 000 to induce the people to vote for them. We want to believe that we have got to the level where such things will not work. We want to believe that the people will not accept that situation this time because there is a statement that you can fool some time but you cannot fool them all the time. They have fooled us for so long and the people have seen clearly that the money they’re using to induce them is the money that has been stolen. That’s why we are happy that LP is driven by the people and owned by the people. They are the ones to lead the campaign.

Are you saying you people don’t spend ‘shishi’ according to you, and even in your campaign?

I want to believe that money will play some role but will not play a major role. Money will play its role in other parts. For example, in organising campaigns and logistics. No doubt these require money. But bribing the people to get their votes will be extremely difficult. I encourage the people to collect the money because it is theirs. Collect it and vote your conscience.