The leadership of Labour Party on Saturday expressed appreciation to supporters of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who had continued to render financial assistance and converted their buildings for political campaigns across the country.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Labour Party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, in Abuja.
Abure’s appreciation is coming in the wake of the Labour movement rallies that took place in Abuja, Plateau and a number of other states.
The LP chairman stated that he did not find the unprecedented crowd that turned up for solidarity march for the party’s presidential candidate surprising.
This is even as he acknowledged that supporters of the movement went out of their way to contribute as little as N1,000 and N10,000 to hold such rallies.
He said, “The rallies are not surprising. It is because the Labour Party has a people-oriented candidate that will work for the people and that will effectively serve the interest of the party.
“Of course, the people must own the process. The people will fund the process because they say he who plays the pipe dictates the tune. Therefore, the people are the owners of the party and that is why they are funding these activities.
“People are contributing money, N1000, N10,000 and so on to carry out rallies for themselves. People are donating their buildings and the people of Nigeria are gradually owning the Labour Party.
“The Labour Party is a party for the poor, the artisans, students, market women, the down trodden, civil servants, hewers of wood and fetchers of water and the ordinary man in the street. They own the party and they form more that 90 percent of Nigerians.”
An elated Abure said he was optimistic that when the time for campaigns commenced, people would troop out for the party and own it.
According to him, Nigerians find it hard to believe that Labour Party could change the political narratives in Nigeria within a short space of time.
“All these movements and activities you are seeing all over, Labour Party has no contribution to it. The people are mobilising themselves, printing logo and campaign materials of the party from their pockets.
“They are driving the process of the campaign by themselves and that is what we are seeing. The people are now asking questions about how they are being ruled. They want to sack the looters and change the status quo.
“They want to put an end to activities of some people who have stolen from the common purse. The people have always been at the recieving end, but all those scenario are about to change. The party is the voice of the voiceless, and that is what you see in those rallies, that is what is replicated all over the nation,” he said.