Abure to sue suspended LP national treasurer Oluchi for defamation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Labour Party (LP) Julius Abure has announced papers are being put together by his lawyers to take a defamation lawsuit against Oluchi Oparah, the now suspended National Treasurer of the party who last Tuesday made several allegations against him, including misappropriation of N3.5 billion for the campaign last year.
In his right of reply, Abure denied on Arise News at the weekend that N3.5 billion donation was collected, saying only N1.3 billion was raised “between 2022 and now.”
When Abure was asked whether he would go to court defend his integrity, he replied: “Of course yes. My lawyers are already gathering the papers to sue Oluchi for her defamation of my character.”
He denied misappropriating funds and alleged Oluchi is being used to destabilise the LP in the mode of Lamidi Apapa and his fellow renegades now suspended from the party.
LP leader Peter Obi has demanded investigation of the allegations.
Oparah alleged on Arise News last Tuesday Abure has been involved in serial criminality in running the party and tried to bribe her with cash, car, and house, but she refused the offers in order to stand up for what is right in the LP.
“Mr. Abure, the National Chairman of Labour Party, has been involved in serial criminality. The late National Chairman of our party, A. A. Salam, died on the 29th of December 2020, and February, after his death … I’m still wondering how he came from the dead to come and sign a cheque that only Abure, as at that time, was the Secretary of the party,” Oparah alleged.
“I’m wondering how he rose from the dead to come and sign that cheque for Abure to claim money. These monies were claimed from the 28th of February through the 7th of March. These monies were paid in two batches, N14 million, that is seven-seven million naira.”
Oparah also alleged Abure has not given her the authority to act in her capacity as LP National Treasurer.
Abure tenders records on television to refute Oparah’s allegations
Abure challenged Oparah to make available the record on how she arrived at N3.5 billion as funds raised during the election in 2023.
His words: “It’s not true that she said that the party has collected over N3 billion. I want to make it abundantly clear, we already have an audited report, made by a certified auditor of the party.
“The party has an external auditor who has reviewed all the records. And we have all the audited statements of accounts of the party from 2022 to 2023.
“All these records are available; the audited statement of account, I have it here.
“The total money, in summary, that entered the party account between 2022 and now is N1.3 billion; nothing more, nothing less.
“We also got N700 million, which were the campaign funds that went straight to the campaign organisation for the campaigns. I didn’t know and I cannot reconcile where she got the N3.5 billion that she talked about.
“I want to challenge her that she should make the record available where she arrived at the sum of N3.5 billion as money generated during the election.”
Abure disclosed Oparah and other LP officials were once suspended in 2017 after allegation of corruption against them was investigated internally, but they were later asked to return to their posts at the behest of former Ondo Governor Olusegun Mimiko to enable the party present a united front for the 2019 general election.
He displayed on television copies of recent cheques he and Oparah signed as two of the signatories to LP bank accounts which he said showed she lied about being prevented from doing her job as Treasurer.
Abure also explained that after the death of the former LP National Chairman in December 2020, someone acted as National Chairman between December 2020 and March 2021 after which he (Abure) became substantive National Chairman in March 2021.
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Oparah alleges being sidelined by Abure
Oparah had alleged “the National Chairman of our party has not given me the authority, I don’t even receive [bank] alerts as the National Treasurer of the party. So, what am I treasuring? I don’t even receive emails whatsoever pertaining to the account. We got over N3.5 billion and I’m saying it with everything that I am saying it with.
“For instance, the National Chairman of our party doctored an audit report of over two point something billion naira, and he brought to me for me to endorse my signature, and I said no, how on earth did we get this kind of amount because I never knew that we had such amount of money.
“I’m only aware of the N55 million that passed through my account which I’ve also tendered.”
“The National Chairman of our party is full of deceit, he’s not the person he claims to be. Maybe it’s because of the size of his body that people tend to believe him, and because he wants to leverage on our leader, Mr Peter Obi, and also wants to buy the sympathy of people. I want the people to also know that he is not who he says he is.”
“I have written series of letters and I have suggested that an external auditor be involved in the auditing of the account because I was shocked when he brought a doctored audited account for me to sign. And let me remind you that in all of the letters I’ve written, I have not gotten any response.
“The highest response I got was that everything pertaining to accounts is confidential. To who? To me? As the Treasurer? That is my office I’m talking about. “I don’t do any other thing in Labour Party apart from money. Why would they now tell me that everything about money that it’s confidential to me? That means they have one or two things that they’re hiding.”
LP accuses Oparah of being a mole, suspends her for 6 months
The LP National Working Committee (NWC) has slammed a six-month suspension on Oparah, according to LP National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh who accused her of being is a mole being used by dissidents to cause disaffection in the party.
“We see this as an insult to the party leadership and millions of our members who are watching how their party’s image, which they have laboured hard to build, is trolled by one ingrate,” Ifoh said.
“The disciplinary committee has, however, recommended to the National Executive Council of the party, through the NWC, that Ms. Oluchi Opara be suspended from the Labour Party for at least six months. This suspension is with immediate effect.”