Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says an “independent person” has been contracted to examine the Party’s finances.
Recall that on Monday, Oluchi Opara, LP’s National Treasurer, accused Julius Abure, the Party’s National Chairman of misappropriating N3.5 billion Party funds.
According to her, the N3.5 billion was proceeds of sale of forms and fundraising activities in the buildup to the 2023 elections.
Opara said she was compelled to raise the alarm because the “internal mechanisms” of the party failed to hold the party chairman to account.
However, the Party in a swift reaction suspended her for six months while alleging she was being influenced by “external forces” intent on destroying the LP.
In a Thursday press conference, Obi, accompanied by Aisha Yesufu, a member of his campaign team, disclosed he is not involved in the finances of the Party.
READ ALSO: N3.5bn Campaign Funds: Labour Party Suspends National Treasurer, Oparah
He furthered that he is not a signatory to any of the Party’s campaign accounts.
Obi said: “I’m not involved in the party accounting. I’m not part of the party management. Even the campaign accounts, I’m not signatory to any or any groups’ accounts.
“The money people gave me was paid into one account or the other which was properly managed because I knew there would be days like this. I assure you, we will account for everything.
“That is why I am calling on every member of the public with leads to where they think these millions and billions were paid into, or given to people in cash, to come forward.
“People actually supported us more in kind than in cash. We had people who paid for our logistics, flights and took care of expenses.
“For the Labour Party issue, we are not going to solve it by saying ‘she say, they say.’ We now have an independent person who will tell us which way forward.”
Meanwhile, Abure has threatened to sue Opara over the allegations.
