The National Treasurer of the Labour Party, Oluchi Oparah, has alleged that the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has been involved in serial criminality when it comes to the running of the party.
Oparah made this claim in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, while also alleging that Abure had tried to induce her with gifts in forms of cash, a car, and a new house, but she had refused the items given to her as she wanted to stand up for what is right in the party.
Oparah said, “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 December 2020, and February, after his death, I’m still wondering how he came from the dead to come and sign a check that only Abure, as at that time, was the secretary of the party. I’m wondering how he rose from the dead to come and sign that check 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, 14 million naira, that is seven-seven million naira.”
The treasurer went on to claim that Abure has not given her the authority to act in her capacity as the national treasurer of the Labour Party as she said, “The national chairman of our party has not given me the authority, I don’t even receive alerts as the national treasurer of the party. So, what am I treasuring? I don’t even receive emails whatsoever pertaining the account. We got over N3.5 billion and I’m saying it with everything that I am saying it with.
“For instance, 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 55 million that passed through my account which I’ve also tendered.”
She further said, “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.”
When she was questioned on steps she had taken to combat this issue, she said, “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 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 that they’re hiding.”
Oparah went on to say that the Labour Party has had meetings over this issue with Peter Obi present, and that Obi had tried to intervene in the matter. She however said, “But again, because Abure feels he owns the party, doesn’t listen to anybody, he has tried to make him see reasons why I should be allowed to do my job, for me to even receives alert, for me to know when money come in and money goes out. After each meeting, the national chairman will be like, Okay, things will turn out right. But yet, nothing has changed for seven months.
“And my colleagues are out there saying that I’m trying to do this and that because I’m being sponsored, no. I even laugh when the national public secretary came out to say because I’m asking for some of these. Let me state it here that Abure has tried to induce me with cash, I refused. He came to my house with a car gift, I refused. He offered me a new house, I refused. I want the right thing to be done. Let me bring change in my own time.”
She further alleged that Abure has made it difficult for people to speak up against him as she said, “He has even made the state chairmen to be in a state of panic because he has never really permanented their stay in the office. He has made them to want to always worship him. He has always made them to be caretaker chairmen. By so doing, they won’t be able to speak up because anybody that tries to speak up, he trashes the person, he replaces, he fires, without even consulting the NWC.”
The LP treasurer then insisted that “If the National Chairman feels I’m lying, let him come out clear and say I have lied against him.”
She further challenged Abure saying, “National chairman should come out clean and say that I have lied against him, that’s what I am insisting. And nobody should speak for him. And anybody speaking for national chairman is not being sincere, is not being fair, because if you’re preaching transparency, we should speak it with our full chest.”
Oparah then said, “When facts issued like this are being laid out, placed on the table, the right thing to be done is for them to carry out an investigation. And I’m speaking from the place of strength, asking that the right thing should be done.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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