LP Crisis: Abure Used Party’s Name To Raise Campaign Funds In US – Suspended Treasurer

The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has been asked to give an account of the donations received from Nigerians in the Diaspora during the campaign tour of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the United States.

The suspended National Treasurer of the party, Oluchi Opara, made this known in an interview following the corruption allegation she levelled against Abure last week.

In a chat with Punch on Sunday, Opara claimed that Abure used the party’s name to raise funds during the United States campaign tour and used proxy accounts to withdraw money from the party.

The suspended treasurer also alleged that Abure has been the only one withdrawing the money from the partý’s account for the past eleven months.

She said, “Abure used the name of the party to raise funds during the United States campaign tour. They reflected in all the documents and tickets I printed out. We have the tickets for $500 and $100 in the name of the party. But Abure returned and didn’t drop a dime. We are talking about a man who uses proxy accounts to withdraw money from the party.

“Again, for 10 to 11 months, Abure has been the only one withdrawing the money. I don’t know how he does it, whether by forgery or other means. We are three signatories to the accounts, but the third person, a former chairman, is dead now.”

Recall that Opara had accused Abure of diverting N3.5 billion allegedly raised from the sale of nomination forms and fundraising activities in the build-up to the 2023 general election.

Reacting to the allegation in a recent interview, Abure maintained that only N1.3bn was raised and asked Oparah to back her claims with full proof.

Following the development, the national leadership of the party suspended Opara for six months, while Obi called for an audit of the party’s account.