The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, defended himself against allegations of misusing party funds. Abure said, “It’s not true that the party has collected over N3.5 billion as revenue into its account.”
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Abure addressed the crisis within the party and disputed claims by the suspended party Treasurer, Mrs. Oluchi Oparah.
Oparah accused Abure of denying her access to financial records and bank accounts, asking for accountability for funds exceeding N3.5 billion, supposedly raised for the 2023 general election.
In response, the National Working Committee (NWC) imposed a six-month suspension on Oparah, calling her a mole used by dissidents to cause trouble in the party.
Challenging Oparah’s claims, Abure asserted, “It’s not true that she said that the party has collected over N3 billion. I want to make it abundantly clear, we already have an audited report, made by a certified auditor of the party.”
He continued, “The total money, in summary, that entered the party account between 2022 and now is N1.3 billion; nothing more, nothing less. We also got N700 million, which were the campaign funds that went straight to the campaign organization for the campaigns.”
Abure then challenged Oparah to provide evidence supporting her assertion of N3.5 billion generated during the election, saying, “I want to challenge her that she should make the record available where she arrived at the sum of N3.5bn as money generated during the election.”