The Labour Party (LP) has issued a scathing response to actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo, following his resignation from the party and allegations against its leadership. In a press statement released on Thursday, the party described Okonkwo as a “chronic nomadic political harlot” and dismissed his claims as “outlandish” and “unfounded.”
Okonkwo, a former spokesperson for the Labour Party during the 2023 presidential election, announced his resignation on recently, citing a lack of effective leadership under Julius Abure, the party’s National Chairman. In his resignation letter, Okonkwo accused Abure and his National Working Committee (NWC) of failing to conduct a legitimate national convention and alleged that the party’s leadership was being undermined by “political jobbers.”
“The former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, and his former National Working Committee, having conducted no national convention known to law, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the courts having held that the issue of the leadership of a political party is the internal affair of a political party for which the courts do not have jurisdiction to entertain, there’s no effective leadership of the Labour Party at the national level,” Okonkwo stated.
He further claimed that the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee, set up by the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) to “salvage the party,” was being frustrated by “unnecessary litigation” aimed at maintaining control over the party.
However, the Labour Party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Arabambi Abayomi, dismissed Okonkwo’s allegations as baseless and accused him of being a “political cross-dresser” with no credibility.
“Kenneth Okonkwo is a heavily and thoroughly defeated, demystified Lilliputian bystander and docile political actor who has resigned over five times and yet still parades himself as our member,” the statement read. “His incoherent statements and false claims are a reflection of his bitterness and lack of political relevance.”
The party also defended its leadership, citing two Federal High Court judgments delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite on September 27 and October 8, 2024, which affirmed Julius Abure as the legitimate National Chairman of the Labour Party. The statement further referenced a Court of Appeal ruling on November 13, 2024, which upheld Abure’s leadership and dismissed challenges from the Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee and INEC.
“The Court of Appeal Abuja has reiterated that Julius Abure remains the National Chairman of the Labour Party,” the statement noted. “The judgment of November 13, 2024, which recognizes Abure as National Chairman, subsists and has not been set aside by any court.”
The Labour Party accused Okonkwo of engaging in “cheap blackmail” and attempting to sabotage the party’s preparations for the 2027 presidential election. It described his resignation as a “good riddance to bad rubbish” and declared him a “curse, scourge, and affliction” to the party.
“Kenneth Okonkwo’s mission of systematic demarketing of the Labour Party and criminal sabotage of our 2027 presidential preparation has finally ended with his resignation from our great party,” the statement concluded.
