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A group of former Labour Party stakeholders and supporters of the presidential ambition of Arc. Dr. Peter Agada have demanded the refund of N150 million allegedly paid to the party by their principal for presidential nomination processes, accusing the party leadership of obtaining the funds under false pretences and threatening to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The group, led by Prince Temilade Craig and Dr. Blessing Elaigwu, made the demand in a statement issued on Saturday following the Labour Party’s presidential primary and the emergence of the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
In the statement titled “EFCC for Labour Party: We Insist on Refund of Our Aspirant’s Fees,” the stakeholders alleged that the Labour Party leadership collected a total of N150 million from Agada despite an alleged prior decision not to allow him participate in the presidential contest.
According to them, the amount comprised N50 million paid for the expression of interest and nomination forms, as well as an additional N100 million contributed towards the party’s national convention and other support activities.
“The fees obtained by the party totaled N150 million, being N50 million for expression of interest and nomination forms and another N100 million as induced contributions to the Umuahia national convention and other party support activities, which were obtained from our presidential aspirant, Arc. Dr. Peter Agada, under the pretext and assurances of the party’s support for his presidential race,” the group stated.
The stakeholders said they were reacting to comments credited to the Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Barr. Kenneth Asogwa, in a publication in The Guardian newspaper of May 29, 2026.
They pointed specifically to a statement attributed to the party spokesman which read: “The decision to zone the presidency to the South did not happen yesterday. It is a settled matter that was adopted long ago and ratified at the national convention of the Labour Party.”
The Agada supporters argued that the party’s position raised serious questions about its conduct during the presidential nomination process.
“If the decision to restrict the presidential ticket of the party to only aspirants of Southern Nigeria was truly taken, why did the party go ahead to issue presidential expression of interest and nomination forms to Arc. Peter Agada, knowing full well that he is from the Middle Belt of Nigeria, knowingly demanded and pocketed fees and logistics support funds from him totalling N150 million, and furthermore went on to screen him to contest the presidential primary?” the statement queried.
The group further questioned why a disqualification letter was allegedly issued to Agada only days before the primary election despite his participation in the nomination process.
“What then is the difference between the present leadership of the Labour Party of today and the corruption vilified Julius Abure administration of yesterday?” they asked.
Beyond the controversy surrounding Agada’s disqualification, the stakeholders accused the current Labour Party leadership of selectively applying resolutions reached at the party’s national convention in Umuahia.
They alleged that while party officials justified Agada’s exclusion on the basis of convention decisions, similar resolutions affirming elected state executive councils had allegedly been ignored in several states.
The statement claimed that party executives in states including Ogun, Oyo and Edo had been replaced through what it described as a harmonisation process, despite their earlier ratification by the convention.
“The point we make here is that if it is true by yesterday’s published confession of the leadership that convention resolutions of the party are inviolate, why have the leaders of the party unilaterally abolished the convention resolutions which ratified and affirmed the congress-elected state council executives?” the group asked.
The stakeholders further accused the party leadership of pursuing what they described as a deliberate agenda to prevent a Middle Belt aspirant from securing the party’s presidential ticket.
According to them, the enforcement of the zoning arrangement was aimed at achieving “the malicious disqualification of the Middle Belt aspirant and hitherto most qualified figure in the party’s roll-call of presidential aspirants.”
The group also expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the party’s presidential primary, alleging that the emergence of the eventual candidate would reinforce long-standing perceptions about the Labour Party’s regional outlook.
They argued that the party’s recent actions could deepen concerns among some Nigerians regarding inclusiveness within its internal political processes.
Despite wishing the party well, the stakeholders insisted that efforts would be made to recover the funds allegedly contributed by Agada and his supporters.
“We hereby put them on notice of hearing soonest from the EFCC on our political networks’ jointly contributed campaign funds which they obtained under false pretenses from our dear principal, Arc. Dr. Peter Agada,” the statement declared.
The group maintained that public accountability was necessary and vowed to pursue all lawful avenues to recover the money, insisting that “Nigeria must be purged in every frontier of charlatan corruption and retrogression.”
As of press time, the Labour Party leadership had not issued a response to the latest allegations.
Meanwhile, after collecting money nomination and expression of interest forms from the aspirant, the party leadership zoned Labour Party presidential ticket to the South.
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