The Labour Party has extended what it described as the last warning to Mr Callistus Okafor, whom it said had declared himself the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).

In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Pastor Onuorah Ifoh, the party said the action of the former member of the party was tantamount to contempt of court and could attract severe punishment.

According to the statement by the party, “We want to remind Mr Okafor that his behaviour by addressing the press today and addressing himself as the national chairman of the Labour Party is a contempt of court and that he should be ready to face the consequences.

“This will be our last warning, as we will not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law on Mr Okafor if he continues to progress on that trajectory,” Ifoh stated

The party said it had to warn Mr Callistus Okafor because its attention had been drawn to news making the rounds in some media, purportedly by Mr Callistus Okafor, who “claimed to be part of the 2014 National Convention of the Labour Party and who today declared himself unilaterally as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.”

It said, “This latest development is coming after the judgement of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which only recently validated the Nnewi Convention of the Labour Party, that produced a new set of executives led by Barrister Julius Abure as the National Chairman.

“We wish to state clearly that Callistus Okafor could pass as a dramatist who chose to dance to the gallery and entertain people.

“We seriously don’t know who is playing the drums for this erstwhile member of the party, even after two successful National Conventions have been held and the party has since moved far beyond his imagination,” it added.

The party said, “Nigerians will recall that Mr Callistus Okafor also showed up in 2021 when he declared himself as the National Chairman of the party and proceeded to court and failed both in the High Court and also in the Appeal Court.

“The Court of Appeal held clearly that Callistus Okafor cannot use the consent judgement to make himself the national chairman of the Labour Party.”

The statement said that “in fact, the court reprimanded him and dismissed his suit with substantial cost, which he has yet to meet till present. We are rather shocked and surprised that the same Okafor has come up again, abandoning and going against the Court of Appeal decision.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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