From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Labour Party (LP) South East stakeholders have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest the rising security challenges in the region before the February, March general election.
They also called on the national leadership party to urgently speak up and clear the air on the Enugu State governorship candidacy which is currently under litigation.
Rising from one day South East stakeholders’ summit of Labour Party and support groups in Enugu, the stakeholders noted the rising insecurity challenges in the entire South East states were apparently promoted by elements outside the region, and the negative impacts it would have on the voters turnout during the forthcoming general election and urged the president to act fast.
In a communiqué signed by the party National Vice Chairman, South East, Innocent Okeke and Chairman LOC, Chidozie Ezeugwa, they called on Buhari “to use his good offices to direct all security architecture, as was done in the past with the North East during 2015 elections, to arrest the rising security challenges in the South East.”
The stakeholders also resolved among other things, “to call on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to put better structures in place to remove the bottlenecks associated with Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) collection and also remove the dateline attached to its collection.
“That INEC should, as matters of urgency, print the PVCs of over 10 million registrants across the country so as not to disenfranchise eligible voters who are in the last batch.
“To formally endorse Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) as the official presidential candidate of Ndi Igbo, and call on Nigerians, irrespective of their political affiliations, to vote him as the next president. This will further enthrone justice, equity and fairness in the political equation of Nigeria.
“To vote all LP candidates in the upcoming general election and urge all Igbo community leaders and party faithful to work hard in ensuring every PVC is collected by eligible voters that will vote Obi and LP candidates en masse in the 2023 general election.”
The summit unanimously resolved to set up elections management task force to coordinate all elections in the South East, just as it passed vote of confidence in the LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, and the members of his National Working Committee (NWC).
On the issue of the Enugu State guber candidacy of the party, the LP guber candidate for Abia State, Alex Otti, called on the party leadership to resolve the issue and end the distraction on the party candidate, Chijioke Edeoga.
Edeoga had earlier raised the issue and complained on how it has disturbed and distracted his campaigns, urging the party to speak on it.
