Account For N3.5bn Party Funds – Labour Party Treasurer Asks Chairman, Abure

The National Treasurer of the Labour Party, Mrs. Oluchi Oparah, has taken a brave stand, demanding responsibility and openness about party money exceeding N3.5 billion, which has entangled the party in yet another problem.

The funds are allegedly profits from various occasions and the sale of forms intended for the general elections of 2023.

Oparah made the demand for accountability clear at a news conference on Monday in Abuja. She stated categorically that Julius Abure, the National Chairman, must give a thorough explanation of how the party’s money have been handled.

Oparah conveyed her profound concern regarding the purported hindrance she encountered from the National Chairman, impeding her ability to carry out her constitutional responsibilities as the custodian of the party’s fiscal documentation.

During her address, Oparah said that the Chairman had consistently refused to allow the party’s financial records to be examined, going all the way back to when the nomination and expression of interest sales were closed in advance of the general elections in 2023.

Oparah said, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press. I stand before you today with a heavy heart and a sense of duty to the principles of transparency, accountability, and justice. With great reluctance and deep concern, I am compelled to publicly address the media regarding the egregious financial mismanagement and corruption that have plagued our beloved party under the leadership of Mr Julius Abure, the current National Chairman.

“As National Treasurer, I am constrained to come before you and the public today because the internal mechanisms of our party have failed woefully to bring Mr Abure to account for his brazen abuse of office and misappropriation of party funds.

“ His appetite for power has grown unchecked, and he has deliberately undermined my duties and authority as stipulated in the party’s constitution.” [CONTINUE READING HERE]