The Labour Party (LP) has said that it is not part of the proposed G-100 summit, insisting that the party is already a coalition in itself and has a well-established structure across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Ken Asogwa, stated this while responding to inquiries by our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday ahead of the summit, scheduled to open on Monday, August 31.
Labour Party’s decision, Asogwa said, is not to participate in the G-100 Summit was not because it was opposed to the idea of political parties forming a coalition to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but more because the LP had a better structure and coordination.
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He noted, “It is never a bad idea for people to have a coalition to defeat the ruling APC. What we are saying is that we, as a political party, are already a coalition, in the sense that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are integral members of the Labour Party.”
According to him, the Labour Party is unique because the membership of the NLC and the TUC is recognised in the constitution of the party.
“You can agree with me that there is no polling unit area, there is no corner in Nigeria; not even a ward, where you cannot find either a retired or a serving civil servant. So, by sheer membership of the NLC and TUC in the Labour Party, every civil servant in Nigeria is technically a member of the Labour Party,” he explained.
The LP spokesman said the party’s structure was therefore rooted at the polling-unit level, rather than merely at the ward level.
“So, we can’t be going into a coalition. We can’t have such a well-structured platform and go into a coalition that is not well-defined for us”, Asogwa added.
He stated that while the LP was not “averse to coalition”, its platform was open to political parties and groups seeking to collaborate against the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We have already made our platform available for anybody who wants to engage in any form of coalition. We can’t leave a well-structured party like ours and collapse our ambition into something that is not clearly defined,” Asogwa said.
He explained that the conveners of the G-100 Summit had yet to clearly define what they meant by presenting a unified front against the APC.
“The conveners of the G-100 Summit have not been able to come out with what they mean by presenting a unified front against the APC. So, when that is well-defined, maybe we may decide to tinker with our position”, he said.
The Labour Party spokesman maintained that the party would contest the 2027 general elections as a well-structured political organisation.
“For now, Labour Party is going into this election as a well-structured political party, the best-structured political party in Nigeria today, as it is,” he told our correspondent.
Asogwa said the party’s strength had increased significantly since the 2023 elections following efforts by the current leadership to deepen its relationship with the labour unions.
“We had this potential even before the 2023 election, the potential we have in the NLC and the TUC. We had it even before the last election, but the former leadership of the party never harnessed that potential.
“So, the current leadership of the party today has gone to marry the labour unions, the TUC, the NLC and the affiliate unions. And today, we are stronger than we were in 2023”, he further stated.
He said the party would not abandon the structure it had painstakingly built for an undefined coalition, adding, “We can’t take time to build a formidable structure as we have built today and just abandon it on the altar of a coalition that has not been well-defined.”
However, Asogwa said the Labour Party remained willing to consider any clearly defined coalition proposal that was presented to it, noting that, “when it is properly defined, we may decide. We will sit down as a political party to understand what they are proposing, whether it is in tandem with what we already have.”
He added, “Our platform is open to other political parties who feel that they need to coalesce or collaborate in order to defeat the ruling APC. We have thrown our arms open. We are ready to welcome every shade of opinion. We are ready to welcome everyone who thinks that they need to coalesce into our structure to defeat the ruling APC.”
Meanwhile, the Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) told the newspaper that the summit would be an open platform to canvas and articulate opposition strategies to wrestle power from the APC in 2027.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the INWC, Comrade Ini Ememobong, discussions will be wide-ranging, including the possibility of settling for a united opposition candidate to confront the APC President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
‘The summit will provide a framework for opposition cooperation and coordination.
“The single candidacy is a destination and the meeting will provide a direction to the destination”, Ememobong disclosed to our correspondent.
Incidentally, the camp is not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and will not present candidates for the polls.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, chaired by Honourable Abdulrahman Mohammed and backed by the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, is the recognised PDP by INEC for now, pending the final determination of pending litigation before the courts.