Charles Odibo’s selection as the spokesperson for the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential campaign was rejected.
At a press conference on Thursday, Pat Utomi, the head of the National Consultative Front (NCF), named Odibo as the head of the campaign’s communication team.
The LP, however, asserted that the NCF lacks constitutional authority to appoint individuals for the party in a statement released on Saturday by Arabambi Abayomi, the party’s national publicity secretary.
Only Julius Abure, the party’s national chairman, he claimed, has the authority to make such a choice.
The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to the news that one Mr. Charles Odibo has been appointed as the spokesman of the Labour Party by Prof. Pat Utomi. This information has been intercepted through multiple news mediums.”
It is debatable whether LP would have made such an appointment given that Utomi, the NCF’s leader, is unable to assume the position of National Chairman.
“All appointments by the LP are made through the office of the national chairman, and announcements are made by the national publicity secretary on the national chairman’s directive.”
Abayomi also stated that the national chairman has the authority to make appointments under article 14 subsection 1(a) of the party’s constitution.
For the record, Utomi, the head of the NCF, a powerful LP affiliate, introduced Charles Odibo as the media director of the “Big Tent,” an acronym for the NCF, during a Zoom meeting. No mention of the LP was made on that platform.
