*** Denies contesting Edo guber race
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The national chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure has rebuffed allegations of corruption leveled against him by the suspended national treasurer of the party, Ms Oluchi Oparah.
Speaking for the first time on the allegations by Ms Oparah that he cut her away from the financial affairs of the party, Abure to the contrary presented copies of cheques he said were signed by Ms Oparah as recent as last December.
Speaking in an interview on Arise News Television, Abure said that he “had never stopped Oluchi Oparah from carrying out her duties,” as he went on to list her duties including receiving of money and signing of cheques.
According to him because of the electronic payment funds meant for the party are automatically transferred.
He was, however, quiet on the allegation by Ms Oparah that she does not receive alerts into the bank’s accounts.
Abure said that between July and December last year he and Ms Oparah signed several cheques paid out by the party.
Countering her claim that she is not a party to the party’s financial affairs, Abure said that ahead of the preparation of the annual accounts that the party “wrote to the banks to avail our statements to her when we wanted to compile our statement.”
Debunking other allegations of corruption bordering on the misappropriation of N3.5 billion, raised by Oparah, Barrister Abure said that the total receipts into the party in the period she alleged was N1.3 billion besides another N700 million that was received by the campaign.
“Total summary of the money that entered into the party was N1.3 billion. We also got N700m for the campaign. I want to challenge her to make the records available where she got the sum of N3.5 billion.”
Abure also used the opportunity to debunk insinuations of his plan to contest in the forthcoming primaries in Edo State,” Abure said in rebuffing the corruption allegations raised against him by Oparah. READ ALSO:
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Besides the allegations of corruption raised against him by Oparah, Barrister Abure used the opportunity to speak on insinuations of his plan to contest in the Edo State governorship election.
“I am not interested in contesting and the process must be transparent. I will ensure working and acting with my colleagues that the process must be free, fair and credible,” he said.
