The Labour Party (LP) gubernatorial candidate in Adamawa State, Umar Mustapha and his supporters on Tuesday boycotted the campaign rally of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Obi, in company of his running mate, Datti Ahmed, Professor Pat Utomi and a handful of aides, were received at the Yola international airport by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, SaharaReporters observed
Besides Babachir and the state chairman of the party, Christopher Nicholas, there were no other prominent party leaders at the airport to receive the LP presidential candidate.
In a statement detailing why he boycotted the Obi rally, Mustapha accused the LP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of skewing things to sideline him and his numerous supporters.
The statement signed by the Director General of Mustapha Campaign Organisation, Ibrahim Ghaji and seen by Saharareporters, also accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of hijacking the LP party in the state.
After carefully and painstakingly reviewing recent unfortunate events within the Adamawa State Labour Party; and the calculated effort by the Labour Party leadership structure and the Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, to completely sideline the Gubernatorial Candidate and his Campaign Organization and other candidates on the platform of the party in the planning of the august visit of the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi; and the unfortunate failure of the national leadership of the Labour Party to extend a formal official notification/invitation to the Adamawa State Gubernatorial Candidate of the Labour Party, Alhaji Umar Mustapha Madawaki (Otumba Ekiti), about the said intended visit of the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party to Adamawa State.
“The Gubernatorial Candidate of the Labour Party in Adamawa State, and the Director General of the Otumba Campaign Organisation and all its Directors, and the candidates for various offices on the platform of the Labour Party, and other stakeholders, do herein resolve and conclude as follows:
“That, for the reasons enumerated above, we have agreed not to participate in any of the activities listed for the campaign visit of the Presidential Candidate of the party to Adamawa State.
“That, as a show of good faith and commitment to the success of the party, any of our supporters who choose, by their personal volition to attend, are free to attend and participate.
“We, additionally, condemn, in no uncertain terms, the evident hijack of the Labour Party by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Adamawa State. This is rather unfortunate and we will fight it, using all lawful means at our disposal, until it is defeated.”
SaharaReporters also observed that Obi, who drove to Numan town (56 kilometers) for a rally, was expected to fly aboard a chopper to and from Mubi, before his townhall meeting in Yola, the state capital, later in the evening.
