South West NCP rejects alliance with Peter Obi of Labour Party

Following the purported NEC/NCC meeting of the National Conscience Party (NCP) held on the 20th - 21st of January, 2023 at Abuja, the South West zone of the party under the leadership of Alhaji Waheed Lawal, National Deputy Chairman of the South West Nigeria has rejected the move by the former National Chairman, Mallam Yunusa Tanko to bury the party in an unprincipled endorsement of Peter Obi.

According to a release signed by Alhaji Waheed Lawal, NDC, South West, and Fatai Ibu-Owo, NCP Chairman Lagos, General Secretary, South West, the NCP has absolutely nothing in common with Obasanjo's candidate, Peter Obi. It reads “If Gani were to be alive, he would never endorse a sponsored candidate of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo using Labour Party to camouflage. This is a PDP candidate operating within the Labour Party, and if he emerges, he runs back to PDP. Therefore, it would be quite insane and highly opportunistic for a key party of the Nigerian toiling and oppressed masses to have anything to do with PDP in Labour Party. Neither PDP nor Labour party remains the stance of the NCP.”

Furthermore, according to the release, “the so-called meeting was done secretly. No member of the South West zone was officially invited. Meanwhile, NCP originated from the South West. We are also aware of the rented crowd used to endorse the candidate of the Labour Party with desperate actions. This is also to say that all the decisions taken at the purported meeting are null and void.” 

According to the group. “Firstly, the meeting has violated our Constitution by not inviting the real stakeholders (National Coordinating Council), consisting of all the state chairmen and secretaries with the national executive council (NEC) from each zone

Secondly, no official invitation was given to the members of the South West. Thirdly, the attendees question. That is, the majority of the people who attended the secret meeting are not NCP members but rented crowd. Fourthly, the national general secretary is the one who is given the power or mandate to call for every meeting of the party based on the constitution of NCP.

“In view of the aforementioned, the members of the South West NCP reject the action of the former chairman in totality. We say no to the endorsement of Peter Obi. We insist that NCP must follow the path of the truth and stand clear off the looters and exploiters of the masses. NCP must maintain an independent class line in the interest of the masses.

“NCP can never be part of another attempt to decide the Nigerian masses the way it was done in the past by the Nigerian elites. NCP is only for an alliance with pro masses parties and such an alliance would be on the basis of a joint program which are informed by our strategic interests of true liberation of the masses and implementation of the masses programs.

“We are prepared to stand on the truth even if we stand alone, for only the truth can liberate and move society forward,” the released read.