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The Labour Party has alleged that supporters of President Bola Tinubu are pushing for war with the Niger Republic in a desperate scheme to allow him to cling to power.
According to the opposition party, the move is part of a larger plot to stoke anarchy in the country and detract the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) from doing justice to the petitions before it.
This was contained in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, in Abuja on Friday, August 11, 2023.
Tinubu, by virtue of his position as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been spearheading the efforts to force the Niger military junta to reinstate the deposed democratically elected president of the country, Mohamed Bazoum.
The sub-regional body threatened military action against the coup leaders and has gone on to activate its standby force for a possible invasion if democratic order isn't restored in Niger.
But, the Labour Party said the President is using the Niger situation to invoke anarchy in Nigeria.
Ifoh also alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has activated a smear campaign against the Labour Party in an attempt to create a negative image for it.
The statement read, “The attention of the Labour Party has been drawn to yet another desperate effort by the drowning ruling party (APC) to label it negatively in its desire to create disorder and tumultuous situations to validate its stolen mandate.
“Claiming that the Labour Party supporters are threatening the Presidential Election Petition Court PEPC, Justice is the height of the ruling party’s attempt to pass off blame via their orchestrated trolling efforts.
“This most recent ploy, a photograph purportedly showing a PEPC judge and some children, is sleekly designed to distract from APC’s open intimidating remarks by their counsels directed at the PEPC Justices to the effect that there will be anarchy if the PEPC rules against their client.
“The record should show incontrovertibly that it was they who promised anarchy if Tinubu is removed: only to turn around and invoke anarchy via war threats on the Niger Republic in the hope that Tinubu will not be legally removed.
“Labour Party having presented its case concretely and vividly within the law, remain very confident that the justices will fulfill their statutory responsibilities based on the law and weight of evidence.
“As such LP did not need any threat, to secure the delivery of substantive justice. It is increasingly evident that the ruling party is afraid of its shadow and the truth, and is as busy fabricating and labeling the Labour Party to curry imaginary favour.
“The discerning public should disregard this dubious label of LP because they know who is panicking and trying to create anarchy in the land to remain in power at all costs.
“We, therefore, wish to reiterate our belief in the sanctity of our jurisprudence and expect that justice will be served based on nothing short of what the Constitution and extant law says and not via the troll mechanism or devious acts of the ruling party that is desperate to cling to power without the People’s mandate.”