I’ll Honour Tinubu If He Invites Me — Lamidi Apapa, LP Factional Chair Says

Lamidi Apapa, a factional chairman of the opposition Labour Party (LP), says he’s open to meeting with the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, if the latter should request a meeting with him.

Apapa, however, stated that such a meeting can only take place if endorsed by executives of the Labour Party.

“Before I honour him (Tinubu), I will consult the executives of the party. If they ask me to go ahead, I will do,” he said, adding “If they ask me to go ahead, it becomes our position and not my position.”

The factional LP chairman spoke on Thursday — a day after a mob suspected to be supporters of the Labour Party attacked him at the FCT Court of Appeal on suspicion that he attended a sitting of the presidential tribunal to frustrate the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s petition against Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Apapa and his faction have been at loggerheads with the LP faction of Julius Abure, the suspended National Chairman of the party.

Speaking on Arise TV’s ‘The Morning Show’, he claimed that his rift with Abure’s faction is strictly about fighting for his right as LP’s acting chairman and not to scuttle Obi’s chances at the tribunal.

Apapa added that he’s fully in support of Obi’s bid to challenge Tinubu’s election victory at the presidential tribunal.

“I am fully behind Obi’s mandate and I’ve said it several times. None of them can tell me they are more Obidient than myself because where I voted and the votes I got are confirmation of my wish for Obi to rule Nigeria.

“So, none of them can tell me they are more of it (Obidient) than myself. So, I am fully with him because if he wins the election and he becomes president, I think my life would be better than what it is now, there’s no doubt it.”

He added, “I prefer him (Obi) to be there and I keep on maintaining that on Obi’s mandate I stand.”
Apapa described as mischievous, reports alleging that he plans to withdraw Obi’s case against Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from the presidential tribunal.

“I don’t succumb to the withdrawal of the case. I have said this several times. When you have a good case to handle, why should you withdraw?

“I am not in support of withdrawal because we have a case against the APC and that case must be treated accordingly to a logical conclusion. That’s my belief and I stand by it,” he added.