The Labour Party (LP), on Friday, inaugurated its 2023 presidential campaign council weeks after facing backlash from some supporters over the inclusion of certain persons in the council.
The party, however, declared that its candidate, Peter Obi, does not have the money to fund the campaign alone.
The list, which initially had 1,234 members, was unveiled exactly 16 days ago but was rejected by some of the party’s support groups which were excluded from the council.
Some youth and critics were also outraged by the inclusion of a former defence spokesperson, John Enenche, a retired major general, who in the past dismissed the bloodshed during the Lekki Tollgate shooting in 2020.
As a result of this outrage among other internal grumblings, the LP leadership reviewed the list and released a new list with 1,453 members on Wednesday.
The National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, at the Friday inauguration, appealed to members for financial support as they commenced campaign activities in earnest.
“The task is not an easy one because we are competing against parties that have the resources and common patrimony and ready to deploy it in the election.
“Presidential election is very expensive, it is very costly, our slogan is that we don’t give shishi but this time around, we have to look for money.
“The presidential candidate cannot fund the campaigns alone, he does not have the money, the greatest challenge that we are likely to have in this campaign is with funding,” Mr Abure appealed to supporters at the event.
The campaign council has also fixed 29 October to officially flag off its campaign activities for Peter Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Ahmed-Baba, in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
The Lafia leg of the campaign was initially slated for 20 October but was postponed due to the rampaging flood that affected some states in the country.
As the brace for the opening ceremony, the Director+General of campaign, Doyin Okupe, in a separate statement, said the candidates will be using the rally in “Nasarawa and other states in the North to announce their arrival in the region and subtly sending a strong message that Obidient Family is everywhere and anywhere.”
