Mr Francis Bobai, an aspirant to the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency seat, has said that the leadership feud in the Labour Party (LP), is a family issue that would soon be resolved.
Bobai, former Special Assistant to Mr Joseph Jissalo, special duties and inter-governmental affairs minister, expressed the optimism in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday in Kaduna.
NAN reports that the party has been embroiled in a crisis that has torn it into various factions.
At a recent meeting in Umuahia, the party set up a 29-member caretaker committee with former finance minister Nenadi Usman as Chairperson.
The 29-member committee has been rejected by a group in the party that feels that officials of the party at all levels still have subsisting tenures.
But Bobai, who is seeking the party’s ticket to contest the House of Representatives seat that became vacant with the death of Adams Ekene, told NAN that the feud would soon be resolved.
“The party is working toward uniting all contending interests; we all should see the need for one strong, cohesive and indivisible force.
“We should all realise that we are better together and that we need each other to form a strong force capable of winning elections which is the sole goal of a political party.
“The party has factions, but its members in all the factions know that we cannot win any election if we are divided.
“We all know that a house divided against itself is bound to fail. We do not want to fail,” he said.
The aspirant described the LP as “the most popular political party in the country”.
“LP is well loved by all Nigerians. Having tested the two other political parties – PDP and APC – Nigerians generally see the LP as the only group with the zeal and integrity to make a difference.
“It is this popularity that our political rivals are jittery over and that is why they are doing everything to infiltrate our ranks and cause confusion from within,” he said.
He said that the LP would surely retain the House of Representatives seat that became vacant with the demise of Ekene.
“The PDP had held that seat for 24 years with nothing to show for it.
“Nigerians decided to try the APC both at the state and federal government levels, but they all realised that both political parties had nothing.
“That was the thrust of Ekene’s campaign and that was what gave him victory.
“What I want is the opportunity to continue Ekene’s legacies. I want to continue where he stopped.
“From my interactions with the voters, they empathise with the LP. They are filled with anguish over the loss of the brilliant lawmaker from the LP stable.
“So, they have vowed to replace Ekene with another LP candidate.
“That is why I am in the race. It is all about sustaining and consolidating on the LP legacies to the people.
“And that is why I want the LP to fight together and win together.
“We need this unity more than ever before.
“Nigerians love and trust us. We cannot afford to let them down.
“We must fight together and win together,” he declared. (NAN).
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