Lamidi Apapa has doubled-down on his claim of being the acting National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), claiming he has the backing of the Obidients, which is the support base of Peter Obi.
Lamidi Apapa, the deputy national chairman (South) of the Labour Party, declared himself national chairman last week following a legal battle in the party.
But the Labour Party state chairmen in the 36 states of the federation disowned Lamidi Apapa, throwing their weight behind Julius Abure as the party’s leader.
But Apapa maintains he is the acting national chairman of the party.
“As of today, I am the acting national chairman of the party,” he said when he appeared on Channels Televisions Sunday Politics.
While many accused him of being sponsored by opponents to destroy the party, the LP chieftain refuted the claim.
“That is not true. Nobody is sponsoring me,” Lamidi Apapa maintained.
“For anybody to now say I want to run down the party, that is a lie,” the LP chieftain added.
He says since a court had ordered four national officers of the party, including Abure to stop parading themselves as such, his move is in the right direction.
“Now, if that has happened, what else? The next person should take over,” he said, noting that seven members of the LP National Working Committee (NWC) voted for him as the acting chairman of the party.
Apapa says he enjoys the backing of the Obidients, when asked if Obi’s supporters are behind him. “When you say Obidients’ side, are they not Nigerians?”
He then claimed some members of the “Obidient” movement are acting out of ignorance by criticizing him.
“Let me tell you if they know what transpired, they will know they are acting out of ignorance,” he said.