Against the backdrop of the current economic downturn in Nigeria, a chieftain of the Labour Party, Henry Mbachu, has said that it is only a people-oriented political party that can solve the economic crisis of the country.
Mbachu, who is the member representing the Akwa South state constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly spoke in an exclusive chat with South-East PUNCH in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, adding that the LP is the new hope for the emancipation of Nigeria since other political parties had failed the country.
He called on members of the party to work assiduously to make it strong and capable of winning election at all levels in the country in the next generation election season.
He said, “The Labour Party is the new normal, every other party has failed Nigerians. LP is birthed by the people and its vision is to work for the people, so we are not going to allow it to be destroyed by people who think it’s their birthright to be doing party racketeering.
“The followers of LP should take ownership of the party. The party belongs to the people. LP is a party formed by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, it is a people-oriented party. I advise our members and followers to remain resolute and not allow anything to douse their spirit.
“My name is Nigeria, I believe in Nigeria and when people say may Nigeria not happen to us, it means we should allow anything negative to happen and that is the vision of the Labour Party for the citizens of Nigeria.”
Speaking on the leadership crisis in the party, Mbachu threw his weight behind the 29-man reconciliation committee, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, insisting that it can resolve all the issues in the party.
The lawmaker commended the national leader of the party, Mr Peter Obi and Governor Alex Otti for their efforts aimed at finding a permanent solution to the problems in the party through the expanded stakeholders meeting held in Umuahia last week.
He said, “The stakeholders meeting we held last week was apt when I said apt in every sense of it because when you have leaders like Mr Obi, you won’t expect less from him.
“All this while we have been having this crisis in the part he has spent time and resources working intentionally to get to the root cause of the crisis and now that he is done, it’s time for the implementation of the decision. I’m happy with the decision of the stakeholders during the meeting.
“With every sense of responsibility and sincerity, I’m very impressed with the outcome of the meeting and that is why we have passed a vote of confidence in the person of Governor Otti for showing interest in the future of the party by organizing this meeting.
“I believe that before the 90 days given to the committee, they would be able to work out a solution to the issue on ground. The characters that I have seen enlisted in that committee can deliver and on time too.”l
Credit: Punch