Yunusa Tanko, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Labour Party (LP), has said that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) will release a comprehensive statement regarding the charges against its national chairman, Julius Abure.

Tanko said the NWC had given Abure the opportunity to defend himself and publicize the outcome of the investigation, adding that the national chairman would be expelled from the party if found guilty.

The LP is facing a leadership crisis which reached its peak when the national chairman was arrested by the police in Benin City, Edo State, on Wednesday over allegations of forgery and illegal possession of firearms.

The arrest came after a petition was filed by some aggrieved members of the party, who accused Abure of forging the signature of the party’s national secretary, Kayode Ajulo, to withdraw N1.3 billion from the party’s account.

They also alleged that Abure threatened to kill them if they challenged his action.

Abure, who denied the allegations, said he had documents to prove his innocence and that the cases were already in court.

Speaking to ARISE TV on Thursday, Tanko said that the party’s NWC had initiated an internal investigation to verify the authenticity of the signature and that a forensic analysis would be conducted.

Tanko also accused the petitioners of being sponsored by some external forces to destabilize the party and tarnish its image ahead of the gubernatorial primary election in Edo state.

He said, “I brought documents on this table to explain whether Abure did forge a signature or not. These cases were already in court and that there would be a forensic investigation to confirm whether there was actually a forgery.

“The internal mechanism is going to be an investigation within the party. And the investigation within the party will give us the opportunity to come out and publicize what we’re doing to confirm whether there was a forgery or not. That also takes us to the issue of the police. This particular case is still in the court.

“We started an investigation immediately after the issues were raised, which was some couple of months ago. But the problem is that before we could deal with one issue, they came up with another issue. So we feel like it’s a choreographed and a calculated attempt to bring disdain and disrespect to the party. And if you notice it, the trend is going gradually.

“However, at every point in time, the national working committee will come out with a statement as regards every allegation that has been made against the chairman.” (Daily Trust)

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