The Labor Party (LP) has said it is not part of the proposed G-100 summit, insisting that the party is already a coalition itself and has a well-established structure in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ken Asogwa, stated this while responding to questions from our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday ahead of the summit, which is scheduled to open on Monday, August 31.
The Labor Party’s decision, Asogwa said, not to participate in the G-100 Summit was not because it was opposed to the idea of political parties forming a coalition to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but rather because the LP had better structure and coordination.
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He noted: “It is never a bad idea for people to form a coalition to defeat the ruling APC. What we are saying is that we as a political party are already a coalition, in the sense that the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) are integral members of the Labor Party.”
According to him, the Labor Party is unique because membership of the NLC and the TUC is recognized in the party’s constitution.
“You can agree with me that there is no zone of electoral unity, there is no corner in Nigeria, not even a district, where neither a retired civil servant nor a serving civil servant can be found. So, by sheer membership of the NLC and the TUC in the Labor Party, every public servant in Nigeria is technically a member of the Labor Party,” he explained.
The LP spokesperson said the party’s structure was therefore rooted at the level of electoral units, and not simply at the level of districts.
“Therefore, we cannot form a coalition. We cannot have such a well-structured platform and form a coalition that is not well defined for us,” Asogwa added.
He stated that while the LP was not “anti-coalition”, its platform was open to political parties and groups seeking to collaborate against the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We have already made our platform available to anyone who wants to participate in any form of coalition. We cannot abandon a well-structured party like ours and collapse our ambition into something that is not clearly defined,” Asogwa said.
He explained that the conveners of the G-100 Summit had yet to clearly define what they meant by presenting a unified front against the APC.
“The conveners of the G-100 Summit have not been able to clarify what they mean by presenting a unified front against the APC. So, when that is well defined, perhaps we can decide to modify our position,” he said.
The Labor Party spokesperson maintained that the party would participate in the 2027 general election as a well-structured political organization.
“For now, the Labor Party is going into these elections as a well-structured political party, the best-structured political party in Nigeria today,” he told our correspondent.
Asogwa said the party’s strength had increased significantly since the 2023 elections following efforts by the current leadership to deepen its relationship with the unions.
“We had this potential even before the 2023 elections, the potential that we have in the NLC and the TUC. We had it even before the last election, but the former leaders of the party never tapped into that potential.
“So the current leadership of the party today has married the unions, the TUC, the NLC and the affiliated unions. And today we are stronger than in 2023,” he said.
He said the party would not abandon the structure it had painstakingly built for an undefined coalition, adding: “We cannot take the time to build a formidable structure like the one we have built today and simply abandon it at the altar of a coalition that has not been well defined.”
However, Asogwa said Labor remained willing to consider any clearly defined coalition proposal presented to it, noting that “when it is properly defined, we will be able to decide. We will sit down as a political party to understand what they are proposing, whether it goes in tandem with what we already have.”
He added: “Our platform is open to other political parties who feel they need to join or collaborate to defeat the ruling APC. We have opened our arms. We are ready to welcome all shades of opinion. We are ready to welcome everyone who thinks they need to join our structure to defeat the ruling APC.”
Meanwhile, the Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tanimu Turaki, told the newspaper that the summit would be an open platform to canvass and articulate opposition strategies to wrest power from the APC in 2027.
According to the INWC National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the discussions will be wide-ranging, including the possibility of forming a united opposition candidate to take on APC President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
‘The summit will provide a framework for opposition cooperation and coordination.
“The single candidacy is a destiny and the meeting will give a direction towards the destiny,” Ememobong revealed to our correspondent.
Incidentally, the field is not recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and will not field candidates to the polls.
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, chaired by Honorable Abdulrahman Mohammed and supported by the FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, is the PDP recognized by INEC for now, pending final determination of pending litigation before the courts..
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