THE NATION
Aleadership tussle between Abia State Governor Alex Otti and former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi is fueling the protracted crisis in the party, it was learnt yesterday.
Otti is the only governor elected on the ticket of the LP.
Although there is no personal feud between the two chieftains, their followers are locked in conflict over who should be the national leader of the party in the post-election period.
According to party tradition and convention, the highest ranking elected public officer is usually accorded the honour of party leadership in the major political parties.
Thus, the preponderance of opinion in the LP is that Governor Otti, who is the only LP governor, should automatically become party leader.
However, supporters of Obi, particularly ‘Obidients,’ many of who only identify with the party because of Obi’s interest, believe that the former Anambra State governor is the party leader as a former presidential candidate.
A party source said these fanatical supporters of Obi have invaded the social media to compound the current crisis over the proposed convention.
According to the source, the initial choice of Umuahia, capital of Abia State, by the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC), was rejected by vociferous Obi loyalists who decried the move in the social media.
The choice of Umuahia was misinterpreted as legitimising the claim of Otti’s supporters that he is the party leader.
The Abia governor, who has managed to stay clear of the festering crisis that had engulfed the party, had an opportunity to escape the Obedients’ virtuperation when the owner of the hall chosen for the convention in Abia said the proposed venue was no longer free.
Although Otti is in a vantage position to secure another venue for the party, he never objected to the shift of venue from Umuahia to Nnewi in Anambra State, where Obi was governor for two terms on the ticket os the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), before defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and later, LP.
Following the decision to shift the venue to Nnewi, Obi’s loyalists, who perceive Otti’s current position as governor as a threat to Obi’s leadership of the party, have sheathed their swords.
The source said: “We picked Umuahia. Officially, we booked a hall. The hall was already paid for, one week. Later, the place was no longer free because another person had booked before us.
“Governor Otti is expected to be the leader of the party, being the highest ranking elected figure in the party. But, Obidients believe that Obi is there and he played his role during the last elections.
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