Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has dismissed his purported suspension from the Labour Party as a “desperate act” by Julius Abure, describing the embattled former national chairman as a “clown in search of a crown.”
In a statement released on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, Governor Otti described the move as both laughable and illegal, citing a Supreme Court judgment that affirmed Abure is no longer the party’s national chairman.
He further called on the Inspector General of Police to arrest Abure for impersonation and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fully implement the court’s ruling in order to uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
“The statement by Abure and his gang of comedians is not only a joke taken too far but an affront on democracy by a group of inconsequential irritants desperate to use Governor Otti’s name to further their self-serving agenda,” the statement read.
Otti emphasized that the Supreme Court ruling, which led to the formation of a Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee, effectively stripped Abure of any legal authority within the party.
He also alleged that Abure’s press release was a preemptive tactic to divert attention from his own invitation to appear before the party’s caretaker committee to answer to allegations of financial misconduct and impersonation.
Governor Otti urged the public to disregard what he termed a “laughable statement,” and to treat Abure’s claims as the antics of “a group of clowns in desperate search of a crown they do not deserve.”
Comments