The internal wrangling within the Labour Party took a fresh twist this week after Prince Tony Akeni, the factional National Publicity Secretary loyal to Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti, accused top officials of neglect, sabotage, and deliberate attempts to frustrate the party’s national convention.
In a leaked pre-resignation memo dated October 9, 2025, and addressed to the party’s National Executive Council and Board of Trustees, Akeni protested what he described as “intolerable working conditions” and “policy sabotage” by certain officials within the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman.
According to him, the committee, inaugurated in Umuahia on September 4, 2024, had been mandated to conduct nationwide congresses and an all-inclusive national convention within 90 days.
Over a year later—445 days into the process—no tangible progress had been made, he lamented.
“Membership registration and revalidation, which are compulsory antes to the congresses and convention, are not close to commencement, much less conclusion,” Akeni wrote.
The factional spokesman also decried what he called the “zero budget policy” of the iNWC, alleging that he had been forced to fund his official duties from personal resources since relocating to Abuja in August.
“I have been carrying out all assignments of the office from hotel accommodation without a penny from the Labour Party or its stakeholders except a single N10,000 token for data,” he stated.
“The fund-yourself policy gives rise to aching questions. Which political party’s national image maker in Nigeria’s history funded their party’s publicity from private income—especially an opposition party seeking to replace a gigantic, incumbent dictatorship?”
Akeni accused an unnamed official of being a “Trojan agent” bent on sabotaging the Labour Party’s progress from within and weakening it ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Whoever made the assertion that the National Publicity Secretary should single-handedly bear the burden of the party’s media needs does not mean well for the party. Such an individual should be marked as a saboteur seeking to silence the Labour Party’s voice nationwide,” he warned.
The embattled spokesman further queried why the Usman-led faction had yet to be recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, despite repeated assurances.
“Why is it that months after our inauguration, our council is still not recognised by INEC while the new ADC coalition has achieved the same effortlessly?” he asked.
Akeni ended his letter by urging party elders and stakeholders to act swiftly before “external forces ruin the Labour Party’s standing again in 2027 through internal betrayal.”
However, the rival faction led by Julius Abure dismissed Akeni’s grievances, describing the Usman-led interim leadership as “non-existent and illegal.”
Reacting to the memo, the Abure faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, mocked Akeni and his colleagues, insisting they were “impostors.”
“These people (Nenadi Usman-led committee) are impostors. They are not known to Labour Party. Anything ‘interim’ is not in the party’s constitution,” Ifoh told The PUNCH in a phone interview.
“They just went about creating offices for themselves and occupying positions up to national chairman. Both Nenadi and the Akeni you talked about are not in our register. You can even go to INEC to verify.”
Ifoh accused the media of “encouraging impostors” but said the Abure-led leadership was focused on preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Efforts to obtain reactions from Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, were unsuccessful as of press time.
Also, when contacted, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, declined commenting on the issue.
“We will react to it later,” he said before hanging up.
