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Fresh crisis has erupted within the Labour Party (LP) ahead of its presidential primary scheduled for Saturday, as a coalition of party stakeholders and supporters aligned with the Presidential Campaign Council of presidential aspirant, Arc. Peter Agada, rejected what they described as his “unconstitutional” disqualification from the contest.
In a strongly worded statement jointly signed by Prince Temilade Craig and Dr Blessing Elaigwu on Friday, the stakeholders accused the Governor Alex Otti-led National Executive Council (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) headed by Senator Nenadi Usman of imposing an unlawful zoning arrangement to exclude Agada from the race.
The group described the action as “an assault on the Labour Party’s ideology of equal opportunity, social justice and fair play,” warning that the development could deepen internal divisions within the opposition party.
According to the statement, Agada, described as “the most outstanding presidential aspirant” in the party, was informed of his disqualification through a letter allegedly issued by the party leadership on May 28, barely 48 hours before the primary election.
The stakeholders alleged that the Labour Party leadership had earlier accepted substantial payments from the aspirant for nomination forms, secretariat development contributions and campaign-related activities before turning around to disqualify him.
They claimed that Agada expended about N300 million within one month in pursuit of the presidential ticket, including payments made directly to the party and campaign structure expenses across the country.
“Upon fulfilling the above huge financial burdens at the demand of the party, Arc. Peter Agada was successfully screened for the presidential primary dating back to May 6, 2026,” the statement said.
The stakeholders faulted the rationale behind the disqualification, arguing that the Labour Party constitution does not provide for zoning of elective offices, contrary to claims that the 2027 presidential ticket had been reserved for candidates from the South during the party’s April 28 convention in Umuahia, Abia State.
They questioned why the party leadership allegedly accepted nomination fees and screened Agada if zoning had already been adopted as policy.
“At its mildest form, this is an unfair ransom robbery by the Sen. Nenadi Usman leadership of the Labour Party, tantamount to premeditated and calculated fraud,” the statement alleged.
The aggrieved stakeholders further accused the party leadership of selective application of zoning principles, citing alleged cases in Edo State where members of the same family were contesting multiple positions without objections from the national leadership.
They argued that invoking zoning only in Agada’s case amounted to “naked apartheid” and political injustice.
The statement also accused the Nenadi Usman-led NWC and the Alex Otti-led NEC of sidelining elected party officials in several states since the Umuahia convention and replacing them with loyalists and political associates.
According to the stakeholders, the unfolding developments contradict the Labour Party’s public image as a platform founded on fairness, transparency and internal democracy.
They called on the party leadership to immediately reverse the disqualification and allow Agada participate in the presidential primary “without let or hindrance.”
The group warned that failure to reverse the decision before the commencement of the primary would leave them with no option but to seek legal redress alongside the Peter Agada Presidential Campaign Council.
The Labour Party leadership had yet to officially respond to the allegations as of press time.
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