Chairman of the Labour Party caucus in the House of Representatives, Afam Ogene, has blamed mass defections of lawmakers to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the former chairman, Julius Abure’s leadership failure.

Mr Ogene said this in Abuja on Friday.

He said that it was Mr Abure’s intransigence that triggered mass defections to the ruling party.

“Politicians always plan for the next elections. So with the style of Abure, they thought there was no future for them again in the party.

“Therefore, they have to leave in a hurry, but some of us who believe so much in the rule of law have to stay and contend with Abure for the good of the party,” he said.

The lawmaker, however, said that the Labour Party caucus was not diminished in spite of the defections.

Mr Ogene, who assured of a stronger and better Labour Party, said that Mr Abure’s tenure officially ended in June 2024.

He accused the former chairman of being selfish in his political pursuit, saying that this was not favourable to the party.

This, he said, led Mr Abure into refusing to cede the chairmanship position to the north, as planned by the stakeholders.

The caucus chairman wondered how fair it would be for the party to field a southern presidential candidate under the watch of a southern national chairman.

He appealed to Nigerians to keep hope alive, assuring them of a revived and formidable Labour Party.

The lawmaker affirmed the viability of the Labour Party as an opposition political party, saying that Peter Obi had remained the only formidable opposition voice.

Mr Ogene reiterated the resilience of the caucus to continue to bring the ruling party into check for a transparent and accountable democracy.

He assured Nigerians of the party’s commitment to constitutional democracy through constructive opposition.

(NAN)