…Describes Allegation As Mendacious
Governorship candidate of Labour Party, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, has refuted news making round in the media over an alleged rift between the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi and himself.
In a statement by Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, Labour Party Candidate in the state, he said his attention was drawn to a news item currently circulating around social media, and which purports he made certain statements about the person of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
The statement read in part, “My first instinct upon receiving the reports was to ignore them, as I was sure the report, unfounded and untenable as it is, was a part of the desperate, yet vain efforts of agents of destabilisation that have been unleashed to attack and impugn the integrity of the Labour Party and its leaders across the country.
“We are aware that, having challenged the integrity of what they would want to regard as their victory at the polls, the people who have clearly murdered sleep by their mindless usurpation of the mandate of the people, have found preoccupation in manufacturing and spreading all manner of tasteless, asinine falsehoods against the opposition, all in futile efforts to appear good and legitimize their contrived victories.
“This is exactly what is happening both at the national level of our Great party, where desperate attacks are being invented against the person of Peter Obi and the Labour Party on a daily basis, and in Enugu, where those who claim they were victorious at the polls are busy trying to create discontent between me and Peter Obi, rather than celebrating their pyrrhic electoral triumph.
He alleged how attacks have been relentless, since the unfortunate outcome of the presidential and governorship elections of February 25, and March 18, 2023, where the will for positive change that a vast majority of Nigerians expressed through the ballots was nefariously subverted by those whose only mission was to arrest the party’s collective national renaissance.
Edeoga also maintained that despite the unfortunate outcome of the elections, in full agreement, the party has gone to Court, expecting to get justice for Nigerians, who voted for the to see the emblematic of the change they have longed to experience.
“I must state at this point that this is the umpteenth effort these people are making at inventing a non-existent disagreement between myself and Peter Obi,” he noted.
According to him, they tried all they could during the campaigns but the LP ignored them and focused on its strategy of engaging the people, both at the state and national levels.
Making reference to the meeting held in his residence, which those he described as purveyors of infamy claimed he said Obi fought against him during the elections, Edeoga stated categorically that such a meeting never took place.
He stressed that, “It is important to state that the Labour Party understands the mutual interdependence and interconnectedness of everyone involved at the various layers and levels in our movement, and never brooked mistrust of one against the other.
“We understood and believed that the success of one is the success of all and that was why our messages were never personal but issues-oriented, ensuring that a campaign message in our dear Enugu State for instance can resonate in favour of our candidates in other states.
“This was unlike what was obtainable in the opposition camp, where senatorial candidates were openly canvassing for the presidential candidates of rival political parties, and where sitting Governors refused to attend the rallies of the presidential candidate of their own party.
Edeoga further noted that the author of the press release claimed that he made the statements while addressing members of a phantom “Coalition of Support Groups for ‘Okaome’ but denied that there is no such coalition in Labour Party and Chijioke Edeoga campaign structure anywhere in Enugu State.
“Even the author of this piece of egregious propaganda should have known that I have never used my chieftaincy title of Okaome in my campaigns; it has always been my name, and I was very intentional about it.
“I have had a very strong relationship with our revered Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and I am aware that he also harbors profound love and respect for my person. He has made strong statements about his endorsement of my candidature through a number of verifiable channels, on television, on his Twitter accounts and at various rallies and events.
“We worked together all through the campaign, and it was a result of this strong working relationship that Enugu people delivered over 80 percent of votes to the Labour Party during the Presidential elections.
The LP governorship candidate reiterated that as patriots, the party’s interest is that hope will translate to moral reinvention, as well as social and economic transformation for Enugu State and Nigeria.
We are resolute in our determination to recover, through the instrument and platform of the Labour Party
He expressed trust in the Nigerian judiciary and the mandate of the people of Enugu State, saying that the LP had already filed its petition at the state’s Election Petitions Tribunal, as they are optimistic about a fair and just outcome.
Edeoga also added that the party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, is also exploring every legal and just means to recover the mandate which they believe has been freely given to Nigerians.
“These are our preoccupations for now. For those who believe that investing in diversionary pernicious and mendacious propaganda is their own means of legitimizing their flawed emergence as leaders of the people, we can only wish them the kind of luck they deserve,” he added.
End.
