The Julius Abure–led wing of the Labour Party has openly rebuked former presidential candidate Peter Obi for allegedly urging party faithful to support the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the August 16, 2025, bye-elections.
In a statement released on Friday, Abure criticised Obi’s position, describing it as a deliberate attempt to mislead voters and weaken the Labour Party’s position ahead of the polls. He stressed that the directive should be disregarded, insisting that the party is fielding candidates despite claims to the contrary.
According to Abure, “The Labour Party is fully on the ballot. Contrary to what has been suggested, our candidates are contesting in these bye-elections. We have fulfilled every legal requirement necessary to ensure their participation, both now and in future elections.” He urged supporters in all affected states to remain loyal and vote strictly for Labour Party candidates.
The controversy began on Thursday when Obi, who has been seen engaging with ADC activities without formally joining the party, called on his supporters — including the Obidient movement and COPDEM members — to throw their weight behind ADC candidates. He justified his appeal by alleging that the Labour Party had no “recognised candidates” due to unresolved internal disputes.
Obi’s statement read “Kindly note that because the Labour Party has no recognised candidates by INEC due to the internal crisis, I humbly urge every member of Obidient and COPDEM families to go out and vote for the coalition political party, African Democratic Congress in their respective states”
This pronouncement has deepened tensions between Obi and the Abure-led leadership, which has been battling to project unity within the party despite internal wrangling. Abure accused Obi of acting on incomplete information and undermining efforts already made to secure Labour Party’s participation in the polls.
The Abure faction is now rallying its members to focus on “returning Labour Party candidates to office,” while dismissing Obi’s call as harmful to the party’s electoral fortunes.
“The party is calling on all our faithful party members to ignore this malicious directive and go ahead with casting their votes for the Labour Party and their candidates,” the statement read.
Abure said Obi did not know that the party has done everything permissible by law to ensure that its candidate participate in the election.
“What Obi does not know is that the Labour Party is on the ballot and our candidates are contesting the election.
“The party, unknown to him, has done everything within the law to ensure that our candidates participate in the bye-election and, of course, in all other future elections.
“We are therefore encouraging our candidates, members and supporters across all the states where bye-elections are being held to be focused and ensure that we carry out our civic duties by returning the Labour Party and the candidates elected.”