‘Not every supporter of Peter Obi is an LP member’
A member of the Obi-Datti Presidential campaign council, Olu Martins said it is imperative and very crucially that a clear-cut distinction between the Presidential Campaign Council and the Labor Party is established.
He noted that the Presidential Campaign Council is an adhoc committee and not a standing committee, adding that the articles of the Labor Party constitution, do not cater to how to run a presidential campaign committee.
Martin said the presidential candidate, Peter Obi has the prerogative to organise, and put together those whom he thinks within his own wisdom, who he thinks can help his emergence as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He added, what you call the Obi-Datti movement is an agglomeration, a conglomeration, a coming together, a convocation of party members and non-party members, many of which desire that Peter Obi become the president of the February public of Nigeria.
“If you check those who support the candidature of Mr. Peter Obi, they are members of other political parties.
“This is not without prejudice to what Mr. Osuntokun has said and it is not new.
Suspended national publicity secretary, Arabambi Abayomi has said that Akin Osuntokun’s name is still on the portal of INEC as the senatorial candidate of the Zenith Labor Party after his appointment as director general of Obi-Datti campaign.
Mr Osuntokun continues to insist but he has long abandoned that particular ambition for a higher national calling which is the DG of the Obi Datti campaign. But there are those who believe that he should have publicly denounced that position before taking up this appointment.
Martin said, “That somebody holds a position and then he decides to enter an alliance with a political party because this is even the fact that Mr Aratokun has said he is no longer interested.
“No one can force an ambition on a man. The man has said he’s no longer interested. The people who should be complaining, in fairness, should be accusing Akin Osuntokun of anti-party activities, but they are not doing so.
“Anybody who is not a member of the Zenith Labor Party, who is crying over this matter is, first of all, a meddlesome interloper, but more importantly, that person is being more catholic than the Pope or crying more than the bereaved,” He said.
Speaking further, Mr Martins said it is not entrenched anywhere or in the Labor Party constitutions how you run a Presidential Campaign council.
“The Presidential Campaign Council Committee is an adhoc committee whose job will expire in February and will not continue after.
There is a clear-cut dichotomy, not everybody who supports Mr Obi is a member of the Labour Party, they are members of other parties who are in alliances with the party, and some of them don’t belong to any political party.
It is an accommodation of interest which is vested in the person of Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate who want to be president and vice president of Nigeria.
“We acknowledge this so that we can appreciate and accommodate anybody to streamline it or reduce it to just a Labor Party activity about these issues” Mr Martins added.
