LP Cannot Be Opposition Party After Supporting Tinubu’s Fuel Subsidy Removal, N160 Million SUVs For Senators – AAC Tackles Peter Obi

The African Action Congress (AAC) party has strongly criticized the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi.

This comes in response to Obi’s characterization of the LP as the primary opposition party in Nigeria, despite what the AAC perceives as the party’s endorsement of unpopular policies such as the Naira redesign policy, fuel subsidy removal, and the allocation of N160 million SUVs for Senators.

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Obi expressed the intention to engage in ongoing discussions and efforts to have the Labour Party adapt to its new role as Nigeria’s main opposition party.

“We will continue to constructively engage all Nigerians and our friends, who have now realized the vast implications of the road not taken and the folly of national interest decisions predicated on sentiments and primordial interests.”

In response to the former Governor of Anambra State labelling the Labour Party (LP) as Nigeria’s primary opposition party, the AAC expressed its disagreement on Tuesday through a series of posts on X.

The AAC characterized the Labour Party in 2023 as an “arrangement” orchestrated by Obi, emphasizing that 2024 would not tolerate the misrepresentation of character and facts.

According to the AAC, Nigerians are tired of the ruling class and pseudo-progressives, whom the party described as agents of deceit, pointing out that opposition means to be different in ideas and that for Obi to describe what he moved around within 2023 as opposition, “is being callous to Nigerians.”

The posts read, “Dear Peter Obi of the Labour Party, describing your 2023 “arrangement” as an opposition is a thing of interest to us at the AAC.

“First of all, we wish to serve the memo clearly that 2024 won’t be a year of misrepresentation of character and facts.

“Nigerians are tired of both the ruling class/pseudo-progressives who are agents of deceit. We wish to educate you that the word “opposition” has a root in the word “opposite”, which means to differ, to be different in ideas.

“Describing what you move around with as opposition is ballous to Nigerians. What opposing idea(s) do you or your party, the @NgLabour, represent? A party that supported the wicked, thoughtless, criminal petrol subsidy removal in 2023 can not turn around to be an opposition party in 2024.

“What opposing idea(s) do you or your party, the @NgLabour represent? A party that supported the wicked, thoughtless, criminal petrol subsidy removal in 2023 can not turn around to be an opposition party in 2024.

“Quite a number of misrepresentations might have been overlooked in the past, but Nigerians are wiser now.”

The AAC raised concerns about the impartiality of an “opposition” present in the Senate that refrains from opposing any neoliberal policies yet possesses a fleet of SUVs valued at N160 million, all while the minimum wage for workers remains at N30,000.

“A party that has abandoned the quest of workers is not an opposition. If anything at all, the hijack of a supposed workers’ party, that is, the Labour Party, by you, a neoliberal fundamentalist, gave life to all anti-people policies of @officialABAT of the @OfficialAPCNg

“It’s a known fact that of all candidates in the 2023 elections, our candidate, @YeleSowore presented the clearest opposing ideas to the status quo.

“The “ruining” party: We will remove subsidy. AAC: No, we won’t. We will retain subsidy but fight the corruption in the scheme.
“Ruining party, @OfficialAPCNg : for Further devaluation of the Naira. AAC: No, we would build our local economy through massive industrialization to make Naira stronger.

“APC: We will pay workers as the spirit leads. AAC: We are proposing 250k as a LIVING wage. A Professor should be earning peanuts (N406,000 per month), while a Senator who may not have graduated from Nursery school go home with N13.5 million monthly.

“APC: We will increase fees and introduce student loans. AAC: No, we won’t burden poor students and their parents through the backdoor. Instead of loans, we will give grants to students/cost of study allowance. And we went ahead to participate actively in the #FeesMustFall.

“While you were busy romancing your Senators and House members who got 160 million Naira SUVs, we were on the streets opposing the purchase, and we used the opportunity to show Nigerians why we do not need a bicameral legislative system. We campaigned for the scrap of the Senate.

“Our stance on defending human rights is stellar. While you/your party continue to maintain criminal silence, we have stood, even at the expense of our safety, to defend the rights of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“What exactly did you oppose as his rights continue to be violated by the DSS? Now, Mr @PeterObi, kindly point to Nigerians what you and your party have OPPOSED in the last one year.”

The AAC underscored that true opposition revolves around distinctions in ideology rather than mere party logos and slogans.