2027: Labour Party, Otti Rejects Abure’s Nomination Forms Sale

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Fresh leadership crisis has erupted in the Labour Party as Abịa State Governor, Alex Otti, and the party's national leadership rejected the sale of 2027 nomination forms by embattled former national chairman, Julius Abure.

[00:00:15]The party's national publicity secretary, Ken Asogwa, described forms allegedly issued by Abure as worthless paper, insisting that only the Nnani Osman-led leadership, recognized by courts and INEC, has authority to issue valid nomination forms from the party's national secretariat in Abuja.

[00:00:37]Otti's camp also accused Abure of defying court rulings and engaging in political theatrics. However, the Abure faction defended its actions, arguing that the leadership dispute remains before the Supreme Court, and that the group would be would continue functioning pending final judgment.

[00:00:56]Spokesman Obiora Ifoh maintained that Abure's leadership leadership tenure remains valid, and confirmed that nomination forms were being sold across all 36 states, not just Abịa State.

[00:01:10]Chizy, your take on this one.

[00:01:13]This Abure should go and sit down and have a crisis. I don't know why he doesn't want to sit down.

[00:01:19]You know, I am I am For me, I'm an LP person.

[00:01:24]But I can tell you that I am I am for the Otti's faction. The Nnadi Osman.

[00:01:32]>> Nnadi Osman.

[00:01:33]Because if the court The court is the court that will save us. I think what the Supreme Court will do is quickly to dispose of this case, and so we let's know where we are in all of the the the parties. Don't have parties, you know, to wait for. I mean, sales of nomination forms.

[00:01:49]The party can go online, but who is signing it?

[00:01:52]Right? Because for for you to sell some form Now, if he's saying The The faction that I make as organized for now is the only authorized one to say for Do you know why?

[00:02:05]Even if the court removes them, they have acted for the party because they won't be void in leadership.

[00:02:12]I don't know where else I'm going. Now, if I make as said you are the person for now and you have acted for the party.

[00:02:24]And call this decision, the other person will begin to act from where you have acted.

[00:02:29]Do you understand that? Now, for somebody who I make has not even recognized acted, where is he acting?

[00:02:35]Selling forms from anywhere? So, I can preach for myself.

[00:02:38]So, I think they should go ahead asking the courts to do whatever they do while they are selling the forms. And anybody who is in the Labour Party who is buying forms from the other party because as at the time you were selling that form, see, let me tell you, even if the court rules in your favor in your favor that you are the person as at the time you were selling the forms, I You know, you know forms are signed and submitted.

[00:02:58]Where are you going to go to submit the form?

[00:03:01]Who is going to submit Where are they going to submit that form? So, it means that your faction of the party wouldn't have candidate.

[00:03:10]Because the only signature that I make recognize now will be the Usman signature.

[00:03:19]But, and it is the party secretary and the chairman that submits the candidate to the to INEC. It's not It's not you. So, I did the signature Do you understand? [laughter] So, even I won't be able to submit. Where are those ones going to come and submit their own?

[00:03:33]That's the same thing we are talking about the PDP. Where are they going to submit their own?

[00:03:38]I don't know where I'm going to submit.

[00:03:39]So, it's it's not an issue of okay, continue to do what you are doing.

[00:03:45]Nobody Nobody Nobody will remove you.

[00:03:48]I'm a very busy person. I have told everybody who cares to listen. You can't remove a working I You remove a walking person.

[00:03:54]I don't know what he is. Not in my party.

[00:03:57]I wish that he's in my party. I wish we can call him to come to my party. But as long as OT is as long as OT is concerned, even if it's a non-partisan basis, let him be there.

[00:04:07]Now, you you feel that regardless of what OT does, selling nomination forms is still not going to hold water and INEC will not recognize that. I believe I believe, [laughter] sorry.

[00:04:17]>> Yes, of course, I do. INEC will not recognize Isn't that Is it similar to what's going on in PDP as well?

[00:04:22]>> thing.

[00:04:24]THE SAME THING. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.

[00:04:25]THEY'RE THE SAME THING. That is why I said that if INEC was not to recognize their signature, where would their name come up? Their name would not be on the ballot now.

[00:04:33]That's what it means now.

[00:04:36]How do they have a relation with that INEC?

[00:04:39]It appears Labour Party seems to be more stable than ADC and PDP right now.

[00:04:43]>> I told you that it would have been better that Jonathan comes to run under a Labour Party.

[00:04:50]Politics. Well, well, let me let me go back to PDP, for example. Even this Labour Party, the people buying this nomination forms from these factional leaders, where is their confidence coming from?

[00:05:04]Let me Let me Let me Let me show Or is it blind followership? No, it's You see, in politics, there are founders of crisis who want to do everything to make you feel that they are legitimate until you find out that what they were doing is just a just nonsense. I can tell you that I've seen that in APC happen in Rivers State.

[00:05:30]All of these sentiment people defining court is something of sentiment. You have um senators, House of Reps members who are going for second term Yeah.

[00:05:42]>> Yeah. They're risking their career.

[00:05:43]They're risking their tenure. Their tenure. Buying forms from the Turaki led faction.

[00:05:48]>> Being screened by the Turaki led faction.

[00:05:52]Knowing fully well that the Turaki led faction is not recognized by INEC.

[00:05:58]Now, that is what I am asking because it's one thing to be a blind follower and another thing to mortgage your political future. And tell >> When people know that it's obvious that they are not going to win in general election, they tend to look out for something that will give them excuse.

[00:06:15]Excuse but more like soft landing as to why they failed.

[00:06:19]>> I failed.

[00:06:21]They already know.

[00:06:23]They already know that they can't win there. That That the other party is growing on a daily basis. They know. So, they're just looking for the reason why they they have they failed.

[00:06:33]I don't know why you can't switch camp.

[00:06:35]And all of these persons who are who are members of the House of Reps and senators.

[00:06:40]If they knew the position they occupy they can go to his place and say, "Come, let's go together." A lot of them would be like that. They moved over to The people that moved to APC for example, about half of them that I know, um for the National Assembly that moved from Labor Party, the people that won on the wave of Obi in 2023, lost their primary Senate How do you reconcile that? No, no. That is because you see, when you begin to If I am a serving senator for instance I am supposed to come I was supposed to be begged to come to your party, not me going to the party.

[00:07:16]I told you there are two people that comes to party.

[00:07:19]There are people who comes with asset as an asset.

[00:07:24]There are people who come as liability.

[00:07:27]I don't know where it is. There are people who come as asset. There are people There are still senators who go today when they go for defect even today. By the defect of May, he will get the primaries of the APC.

[00:07:39]Get something. Even if the governor defects, there are certain states that a governor will defend today today. On 21st, which is tomorrow, you will get the governor's everything.

[00:07:48]Because that governor is an asset to the party.

[00:07:51]NOW, WHEN YOU GO, [screaming] IF YOU KNOW YOU CAN WIN the election and you know your house is not stable, get to another party, get to another party, get to this another party, and win your election and go back.

[00:08:02]When your house is stable, you can all come back and say, "Look, we were doing that because we wanted to come back."

[00:08:07]But because you know that you can't win the election, IT IS NOT EASY.

[00:08:14]ANYBODY WHO has been elected who were coming from the the Fubara angle, that was obviously supporting Fubara, I know I have a voice and this the assembly.

[00:08:25]As my friend, I believe this is my friend for instance, is my friend, and I have I've reached him because I've been calling him, he's not picking my call. I don't know whether because of Larissa.

[00:08:34]Because of the bad thing you have done to me, I'm speaking the truth, they wouldn't understand it again. If not, I believe he's my one of my closest friend in River State.

[00:08:42]He's a member of the house.

[00:08:44]He should know that his activity that these people will not vote him. He should know now. He should have gone to another state. He's a likable person as a person.

[00:08:51]>> [laughter] >> I believe he's very likable. He would have gone to another party and picked from and then run run election. It is his constituency now.

[00:08:58]I'm telling you his constituency is conspiracy. Luckily for him, the governor is from his constituency.

[00:09:03]He's one of the governor's own people.

[00:09:05]So, in his constituency, they could give him a sympathy vote and vote him for another political party. So, [laughter] it is not tactical. It was not smart to go into here.

[00:09:13]You came on the guise that that the governor was [laughter] going to be negotiating in through concessions.

[00:09:20]It's called concessions. It's not endorsement.

[00:09:23]CONCESSIONS IS THAT PARTY LEADERS will sit down and agree. And I mentioned party leaders, who would HAVE AGREED ON THAT? SO, IT'S A LITTLE bit of little of smartness. You you didn't use your political smartness. Smartness, you know, to do something.

[00:09:35]>> [clears throat] >> They said, "Okay, sir, you be going here, let's be fighting here. Let's even get ourselves here. Oh, how the governor did when he moved his people TO APP?

[00:09:44]>> TO APP?

[00:09:46]WHY DIDN'T HE consider that That's what I'm saying. in this season?

[00:09:49]>> Maybe they still have >> Why did they take that risk?

[00:09:51]>> Maybe they are still moving there.

[00:09:52]It It You know, you can't foreclose that now. You know all of these parties >> But then the people that had weight, you know, some prominent people, Mhm.

[00:10:01]they were the people that could have come to APP to have given, you know, some level of opposition. But they on, for some reason, trusted APC APC in River State. No, excuse me.

[00:10:15]Knowing fully well that APC right now is more of more of rainbow coalition. And you know who the leader of rainbow coalition is.

[00:10:21]>> Now, see, let me tell you something.

[00:10:23]I'm sorry to say this. It may It may not be a professional terminology.

[00:10:28]Please say that this word was said by Chizim Oseloka.

[00:10:31]Since Wike is a selfish person.

[00:10:35]Isn't that a harsh word to use?

[00:10:36]>> That's why I said Say say Say that I said so.

[00:10:40]He's selfish.

[00:10:42]Because he's thinking of his own only.

[00:10:46]WHEN THIS WHOLE DIALOGUE WAS GOING ON, did you see ABE TAKE A MEMBER OF A RETIRED MEMBER OF TWO-TIME MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES [laughter] respected one in the going with him to the presidency? Did you nominate him?

[00:11:01]So, why did Abe now restart >> no, no, please please No, no, let me finish him. Why Why Okay, go ahead. You are trying to save him now. Let me finish him. LET ME SAY >> [screaming] >> THAT THIS MAN is a very selfish person.

[00:11:14]ABE IS MORE >> [screaming] >> IN FACT, WHEN THIS GOVERNORSHIP was going to that angle, MY PRAYER and take [screaming] was that he should be adopted.

[00:11:27]I'm telling you, Abe was working as a smart person. My prayer and take was that he's going to be undiluted because the way he came in he had the House of Reps.

[00:11:36]And the second time when people [laughter] didn't want him, we can just say, "Please come have your thing."

[00:11:41]SO, IF YOU ARE SACRIFICING ALL OF THAT I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING. IF YOU ARE SACRIFICING ALL OF that to support him, I THINK THAT SAME [laughter] KNOWING that there's NO WAY THE KIND OF CRISIS WHEN THE CRISIS WILL DO, it is no longer you that will say that you're going for second term as a person.

[00:11:59]See, there the See, see, there's a way a crisis will come.

[00:12:03]You will know that you have offended the system in such a way that I wouldn't even trust them if they said I should go for second term.

[00:12:11]I wouldn't trust them not to be saying that. I wouldn't trust them if I said I should go for second term. Okay, we're working on this thing. I have the acting good head.

[00:12:21]Those people WHO HAVE ALREADY WHO I made to come out of your camp, sir, please let them go back for House of Reps.

[00:12:29]Who wouldn't do that?

[00:12:30]At least they would negotiate for them.

[00:12:32]>> Negotiate for them.

[00:12:34]EVEN WHEN HE WAS COMING BACK, HE DIDN'T EVEN NEGOTIATE FOR THEM EVEN >> [laughter] >> even in SSG and Chief of Staff.

[00:12:40]See, this happens in and Boniface is a member. So, if you do 1 2 3, I know during one of the greatest risks that Boniface will go through is from some of our place.

[00:12:51]That's a hostile environment against him.

[00:12:54]Did he negotiate for him?

[00:12:55]No. You are still talking about yourself.

[00:12:58]Did he ever go there to begin to negotiate for this person as Oga? The person >> [laughter] >> as Oga I'm not running. And the House of Assembly members, state House of Assembly members that supported So, that is his own angle. And they were few.

[00:13:11]Edison Ehie, Sokari Goodboy, Bomai Goodhead, yes. Bomai Goodhead is on the list. Makaubuchi House of Assembly You know, they they were just they were just few. And your act of act of 32 There were four of them. Four?

[00:13:27]AND IT'S A NEGLIGIBLE NUMBER IN THE assembly [laughter] that he can negotiate back.

[00:13:32]Are you getting what I'm saying? It's a very negligible. Therefore, the speaker, the man [laughter] Okorocha who also suddenly negotiate their way to House of Reps. That's what I'm saying. For Okorocha, for Okorocha, Mhm. you should take him up because his morale will be down. You will damage his morale. You know, when you bring him back to the assembly to function there, he can't function around us. All of all the four of them.

[00:13:54]NO, ALL OF THEM. ALL OF THEM.

[00:13:56]Don't mind position. All of them can function when they are there. No, no, no.

[00:13:59]Don't mind. But Okorocha, I I know why I'm saying that. I know how much he's having trusted Okorocha.

[00:14:05]I know they trust Matthew In fact, when they told Matthew that Okorocha will go that way, he said, "No, no, no."

[00:14:12]I know every Matthew Matthew was not shocked with anything as he was shocked about Okorocha.

[00:14:20]I'm I'm being frank with you.

[00:14:22]Because Matthew is his friend.

[00:14:25]Matthew is the friend in the assembly.

[00:14:29]In fact, if Okorocha had come back to Matthew to tell Matthew, "Hey, that thing we are doing is we're just playing a game." Matthew would have said, "Hey, At the time, Matthew was shivering like, "My friend, is it my friend that is doing this or somebody else?" So, for Okorocha, you need to take him up, right? Lift him out of that place. Get these people go back. If you can negotiate for these places, you know what that means? Tomorrow, there will be somebody you have that will say, "Oh, no, when you fight, I choose to tell Okorocha, "I'm not going for anything." He He sacrificed for his followers.

[00:15:03]>> He sacrificed for the peace group instead of them hurting themselves.

[00:15:07]Let me go. Okay, now look at Matthew is going for House of Reps. So, it was natural that he would that he can say Okorocha, "I let you join the assembly now."

[00:15:17]CHIJIOKE, WHO? YES.

[00:15:19]NO, NO, NO. YOU SEE, IN WHEN IT IS time for peace Compromise is something Compromise is there.

[00:15:26]You know, you know, sacrifice is is too offensive. When it is time for peace, anybody can do anything. But you can begin to push your guy.

[00:15:36]Please, you're joking.

[00:15:37]Assembly.

[00:15:39]You say, "No, NO, NO, SIR." OKAY.

[00:15:42]RIGHT?

[00:15:43]HE PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE.

[00:15:45]IF YOU YOU YOU YOU CAN PLACE TWO two two two by uh certain times with tactics Get four of these persons and get them over. He says, "I'm not interested in anything. Okay, this is my support. I will support this." He doesn't do anything.

[00:16:00]You Wike is the weakest politician I've seen when you say when you approach this.

[00:16:05]I'm being frank with you.

[00:16:07]When we get chance, he doesn't want you to come close.

[00:16:10]Because if you come close and touch Wike, he says, "I'm sorry."

[00:16:13]Wike Wike You like I cannot accept. Wike will say, "You, I will do you favor.

[00:16:17]Have I not done you favor before?"

[00:16:20]I am telling you, SOME OF US WE are afraid that the way Fubara was coming, this is You know I told you that he will fail the way he was agreeing with it. I told you. I said it that he's going to fail all of these agreements. That I don't trust Fubara. You You will fail all of these agreements. The man's pattern for failure. [laughter] Anybody that says yes to everybody fails any agreement.

[00:16:40]Everybody. A woman is is is good woman because she can say yes or no. A woman that says yes to everybody is a harlot.

[00:16:50]The same with the man.

[00:16:52]So, when you don't know when to say yes, I don't know when to say If you see [laughter] a man that when he comes from this agreement says, "Yes, I will do it." And then goes and says, "WHY DID YOU NOT DO IT LIKE THAT?"

[00:17:01]HE WILL GO YES, I WILL DO IT.

[00:17:03]HE SAYS yes in every form.

[00:17:06]He says yes.

[00:17:08]I have told you that four days ago he said yes to a group of people that are not running for the governor.

[00:17:16]This governorship.

[00:17:19]He told them that it was the people who went and bought from what is his own.

[00:17:25]Meanwhile, inside of him he wants to be.

[00:17:29]But his guy is throwing in the state.

[00:17:31]Look at the Rivers State governor.

[00:17:33]Degenerating himself to a Rivers State governor. As a what is his What is his his deputy profile?

[00:17:40]What is the man deputy profile to compare to Fubara?

[00:17:44]I don't understand it.

[00:17:46]Bring it. This is This is the least uh career the >> [laughter] >> deputy governor has carried since I since I came as a person. LOOK AT LOOK LIKE ALSO THE MAN THAT SCHOOL HE ATTENDED I KNOW HIS FULL DEGREE.

[00:18:01]I know his school he he he attended. I know those When you know a man's friend, you know the kind of person the man is.

[00:18:07]I know the man's friends.

[00:18:09]All his friends I know what they do till today.

[00:18:12]I know the friends. That's the kind of person he is. That's the moment I came to the time I became governor. That's the person that you want to FROM FOURTH FOURTH FOURTH position to become governor. That's why Oh, you told you are the same way he did it. That's how he's going to do it. Is this Rivers State?

[00:18:27]That's the person that will come. Also the a PROPER LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHAIRMAN BEFORE Biafra and before councilor to the man.

[00:18:35]And that's the person the Rivers State governor The man that should be coming to you. Well, also the man smart man.

[00:18:41]Uh Fubara has given him money for his election funding of the Why would you say Fubara has given him >> that that No, no, no. That's That's That's another option.

[00:18:50]And did I say the ATM [laughter] told me? I said I'm saying it and I said they will not be up. I'm not the one saying it. I said Fubara has given them money.

[00:18:55]You're right. All right. So, all these things you have said, you have conveniently left Labour Party matter because Rivers State matter is forefront of your mind.

[00:19:06]No, no, no. No, no. It is It is the one that is biting you the most. Yes. Is You're are [laughter] yes? Yes. Is the one that is biting you the most? Anyway, I'm moving forward, we look forward to how 2027 will pan out. First of all, Rivers State primaries how it's going to pan out by Thursday. Oh, by Thursday probably I'll be dancing.

[00:19:25]I want to I want to talk to talk to you via what is it called? Live. Live.

[00:19:31]You see I'm dancing.

[00:19:34]Let me put it. By 12:00 we have finished the primaries.

[00:19:37]We'll declare relation and then wait for the main election.

[00:19:42]Because of course we declare the APC is coming on the polls in Rivers State.

[00:19:45]No other candidate is coming. No other candidate. APC has not announced that.

[00:19:50]Are you saying nobody is buying form from this party?

[00:19:54]Okay, you are so confident that APC will take over Rivers State in the coming months. We have taken over. All right, then.

[00:20:01]>> [music]