THE Labour Party (LP) has dissociated itself from its former spokesperson, Abayomi Arabambi, who instituted a suit against the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) for allegedly refusing to release details of the academic record of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), presidential candidate in next year’s general elections, Peter Obi.
Obi was LP’s presidential candidate in 2023, but left the party shortly after the election, citing an intense leadership crisis in the party.
In his reaction to the suit, LP’s spokesman, Ken Asogwa, said in a statement on Monday, September 14, Arabambi was no longer a member of the party, being among 25 former members suspended and later expelled by its National Executive Council (NEC) in March, this year, for alleged anti-party activities.
“That suspension, which was made public and widely reported by several mainstream media organisations across the country, included the said Abayomi Arabambi and a few other former members,” he added.
Asogwa explained that the suspension was subsequently ratified by the party’s National Convention on April 28, after which those affected ceased to be LP members.
He said the clarification became necessary after reports described Arabambi as an LP chieftain, noting: “While the Labour Party wishes to refrain from commenting on the substance or otherwise of the litigant’s case before the court, particularly as Peter Obi is not a member of the party, we wish to notify the general public that Abayomi Arabambi is not a member of the Labour Party.”
Asogwa stressed that since the suspension and subsequent expulsion of the affected members, “no organ of the party has sat to revisit or reverse the decision concerning the expelled members,” and representation by Arabambi as a chieftain or as a representative of the party was unauthorised.
He stated: “If Arabambi has presented himself to the public as a chieftain or representative of the Labour Party, the general public is hereby notified that such representation is entirely unauthorised and, prima facie, amounts to impersonation.”
The LP spokesman disclosed that the party’s lawyers were reviewing the matter to determine possible legal action against Arabambi, as well as a petition to law enforcement authorities.
He said: “It is, therefore, against this background that the Labour Party wishes to inform the general public, and particularly the media, that Abayomi Arabambi is not a member of the Labour Party and could not have instituted any action in court as a member of the Party, having long severed ties with the Labour Party.”
Asogwa stressed that the statement was intended only to establish Arabambi’s status in relation to the party and had no bearing on the validity or otherwise of the claims contained in his suit against Obi before the court. In the suit, UNN was listed as 2nd defendant, while its vice chancellor was named 1st defendant.
Obi graduated from the university in 1984. But Arabambi claimed that he had requested a certified true copy of Obi’s certificate, number D000198, in respect of a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy issued in 1984, in line with the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, but the institution refused his request.
He is seeking, among others, an order of mandamus compelling the respondents to perform their statutory duty under the FoI Act, 2011, by determining and responding to his July 16 request, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
