Former spokesperson for the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has announced his resignation from the party, citing internal leadership crises and lack of preparedness for the 2027 general elections.
Okonkwo made this known in a press statement he personally signed on Tuesday, expressing disappointment over the party’s current state.
He stated, “My entrance to politics is for good governance, and I will continue to work for it to ensure that Nigeria becomes a great country of incorruptible men. This aim can no longer be realised within Labour Party as presently constituted.”
Declaring that the party is “non-existent” in its present form, he added, “Since the party is non-existent as presently constituted, I am constrained to resign my membership of the party.”
To his supporters, Okonkwo assured continued loyalty, saying, “To all Nigerians of goodwill who supported us when we needed them most, I pledge my continued loyalty to the Nigerian people in all I will decide to do in my political future.”
The Nollywood veteran also revealed his openness to joining another political platform, stating, “This resignation takes effect from the 25th of February, 2025, which marks the second anniversary of the presidential election of 2023, after which I will be at liberty to join other well-meaning and like-minded Nigerians in charting a great future of good governance for this great country blessed by God.”
Okonkwo blamed the party’s woes on leadership struggles, noting that the tenure of its executives had long expired, while the caretaker committee meant to restore order had been stalled by endless legal battles.
He took a swipe at LP’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, accusing him of prioritizing personal interests over the survival of the party.
“The former National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, and his former National Working Committee, having conducted no national convention known to law, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the courts having held that the issue of the leadership of a political party is the internal affair of a political party for which the courts do not have the jurisdiction to entertain, there’s no effective leadership of Labour Party at the national level.”
He further explained that the Senator Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee, which was set up by the National Executive Council (NEC) to organize congresses and a convention within six months, was hindered from functioning due to legal roadblocks allegedly created by Abure and his allies.
“Unfortunately, Abure and his colleagues, with the collaboration of outside forces, expectedly, being political jobbers, launched unnecessary legal challenges against this Caretaker Committee that have inhibited it from functioning. It’s more than six months after the inauguration of the committee, and the committee has not even taken off, leading many to conclude that the objective of these politicians of bread and butter with their outside collaborators is to bog down the serious members of Labour Party with frivolous and unnecessary litigation till the 2027 election is over.”
Okonkwo questioned why the party’s leadership had not fought to reclaim seats lost through defections but was instead focused on legal battles to maintain control.
“Isn’t it curious that a national executive of a political party whose elected members are defecting every day to other parties, and who can not wage legal battles to recover these seats for their party, is waging ferocious legal battles to maintain their destructive, choking hold on the party?” he asserted.
