The Labour Party in Ogun State has denied any form of alliance with the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the March 18 governorship election.
There were reports that the Ogun Labour Party had endorsed the APC and its candidate, Governor Dapo Abiodun, for a second term.
But, the party said the endorsement was done by suspended members of the party without the consent of the authentic officials of the LP in Ogun. A statement by the Publicity Secretary of the LP Caretaker Committee in the state, Tokunbo Peters, described the purported endorsement as misleading.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had excluded the name of the governorship candidate of the party in the state, Kehinde Sogunle due to a court case. Reacting to the endorsement, Peterson said the Labour Party could not have entered into any alliance with the APC in Ogun. The statement described the endorsement as a poor attempt to hoodwink the electorate into believing that the Labour Party is in alliance with the APC. Abiodun had been endorsed by the embattled State Chairman, Michael Ashade, and the National Acting Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, who have all been suspended by the national leadership of the party.
While dissociating itself from the said endorsement, the party said, “even though overtures have been made to the Labour Party by the ruling party, the Labour Party is totally averse to any form of alliance with the APC,” especially as the LP is presently in court with the APC over the results of the February 25 presidential election. The statement clarified that Lookman Jagun is the defacto Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Labour Party in Ogun State, stressing that Michael Ashade who allegedly carried out the said endorsement had been suspended from the party long ago.