Politics

Labour Party Crisis: Ex-Treasurer Opara Accuses Abure of Financial Misconduct, Forgery

Published

2 months ago

Sep 11, 2024.

A former National Treasurer of the Labour Party, Oluchi Opara, has accused the factional chairman of the party, Julius Abure, of forging the late chairman’s signature and misappropriating party funds.

EKO HOT BLOG notes that Opara claimed Abure transferred money to accounts belonging to his wife, siblings, staff, and his personal company.

Opara stated that when Abure took over as the national chairman after the death of A.A. Salam, the party had no funds. However, two months after Salam’s death, Abure allegedly emptied the party’s accounts.

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She credited Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, with reviving the party and generating its financial resources. Opara dismissed Abure’s claims against Obi, asserting that Abure had no grounds to criticize the former candidate.

In an interview with News Central on Tuesday, Opara said, “I came out in February to challenge Julius Abure to explain the financial dealings of the Labour Party. He has been accused of embezzlement, misappropriation of power, and even forging the signature of the late national chairman to withdraw funds after his death.”

Julius Abure and Oluchi Opara

Opara urged Abure to allow an external audit of the party’s accounts and criticized him for launching a smear campaign against Peter Obi. She accused Abure of diverting attention from the alleged looting of campaign funds, challenging him to present clean financial records.

Opara also refuted Abure’s claim that the party wasn’t in charge of campaign funds during the 2023 election, asserting that the Labour Party did manage those funds. She pointed to a bank account shared by former Obi/Datti campaign council member Aisha Yesufu on her social media account as the party’s official campaign fund account.

Opara added, “Abure should not be ungrateful and should stop tarnishing the image of a respected political figure like Peter Obi. If he wants to go to equity, he must come with clean hands.”

She further accused Abure of transferring money to personal accounts through party staff, alleging that staff members were used as intermediaries to funnel money back to Abure’s accounts.

“If I’m lying, let the account be reactivated so Nigerians can see the truth. How did the late chairman sign a check two months after his death for Abure to withdraw funds? He should stop accusing Peter Obi and face the allegations against him,” Opara concluded.

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