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Tension has begun to mount in the Labour Party over donated campaign funds as the camps of both Peter Obi and Pat Utomi disagree over who should be signatory to the party’s campaign funds and control stakes of the party’s finances ahead of the 2023 general elections.
A source close to the party hierarchy yesterday disclosed to our reporter yesterday that allies of the Presidential Candidate of the Party, Mr. Peter Obi, have sidelined the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barr. Abure, and Professor Pat Utomi, who were earlier listed as signatories to the Labour Party’s campaign donation account. Hence, one Benji Uba, who is a loyal ally of Peter Obi, was reported to have forced his hand as the only signatory to the account, which has raised concerns of unrest within the party.
According to our source, the squabble over who should be in charge of campaign funds, as well as Professor Utomi’s distrust of Benji Uba, prompted the creation of an alternative fund-raising platform, which they tagged FUND40MB, as inaugurated recently by Pat Utomi and Kennedy Iyere.
Recall that Professor Pat Utomi approved the appointment of Dr. Charles Odibo as the party’s campaign spokesman for the presidential election last week, but Benji Uba and others in Peter Obi’s camp rejected the appointment and choice of Odibo as the party’s spokesman, questioning Utomi’s capacity to recommend and ratify such an appointment.
Mr. Peter Obi is believed to have instigated the war through proxies, and he has continued to deny knowledge of the abuse and ill-treatment meted out to Professor Utomi by his cronies.
Since Peter Obi’s arrival in May, the Labour Party has been implicated in numerous instances of gross financial irresponsibility. According to reports, the party’s nomination forms quickly multiplied tenfold, and a few Anambra men who joined the party with Peter Obi converted the Labour tickets to cash and carry bazaar.
Party tickets, which were previously priced at 500k, were sold for between one-five million naira, and the money paid in cash to a few people and not the Labour Party bank account. They were being coordinated by the same Benji Uba, who was quartered at the Best Western Hotel Awka, where he was fleecing aspirants.
Professor Utomi is said to be unhappy with recent developments in the party and to have felt used to give the party a face when he stepped down to allow Peter Obi to run for President. Utomi had threatened to expose their criminality, which they imported from the APGA into the Labour Party.
The Labour Party is scheduled to travel to the United States of America on the 29th to solicit financial support for the party’s presidential election in February, which is why Professor Pat Utomi and Kennedy Iyere put themselves forward to manage the donated funds, but those with Peter Obi appear to have ulterior motives as they have rejected Utomi as a signatory to the party’s campaign account and equally disowned the FUND40MB fund-raising initiative envisioned by Utomi and Iyere.
With the recent party developments and crisis over who should be in charge of donated campaign money, Professor Pat Utomi might be compelled to come out and spill the beans and expose Peter Obi’s scheme. He appears to be running for president only to raise money from willing donors and innocent Nigerians for selfish interests.
It doesn’t seem like Peter Obi is vying for the presidency. His recent actions do not indicate this. Instead, he is raising money through the platform for himself and his friends. This is the current feeling of those around Utomi and the Labour Party.
