•Akin Osuntokun
A former Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, has dumped the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress.
Osuntokun, a former NAN Managing Director, confirmed this to a correspondent of the agency today in Lagos.
“Yes, it is correct. I am now in ADC,” he said.
When asked why he dumped the Labour Party, Osuntokun cited the activities of those he called internal saboteurs.
“You should know that the people in control of the Labour Party are people who are just there as internal saboteurs.
“They are there to sell the party to the highest bidder, and it should not be to the interest of anybody who is authentically there.
“Look, in any case, the team with which I went to the Labour Party had already departed the Labour Party – that’s the Peter Obi group. So, that’s the long and short of it anyway.
“People are using it (LP) for purposes other than what is good for the country.”
He said the declaration of Senator Nenadi Usman as the valid chairman and the sacking of Mr Julius Abure-led National Working Committee of LP had created further uncertainty in the party.
Osuntokun said that the Abure-led NWC had vowed to appeal the judgment, and “nobody can trust what the court will do again at the last minute”.
According to him, ADC is the most credible political platform at the moment.
“One of the reasons, of course, why I am there to make my own contribution and to strengthen it, is that a one-party dictatorship is not good for Nigeria.
“That is the platform that has the greatest potential now. It has become a formidable opposition platform.
“So, if anybody is interested in stopping Nigeria and influencing Nigeria against one-party dictatorship, it is the only viable option,” he said.
Osuntokun, who noted that though he had already made up his mind to join ADC before his move, former Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, fast-tracked his defection.
The former LP stalwart explained that he was no stranger to ADC, saying he was among those who formed the party.
He added that ADC was formed from a group called the Coalition for Nigerian Movement, led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“I was there at the beginning, actually, it predated my Labour Party interlude,” he said.
Many opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 LP Presidential Candidate; Peter Obi, former Senate President; David Mark, Former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola, among others, have adopted ADC as a political platform for 2027.
