The deputy national
chairman of the Labour Party, Joseph Akinlaja, yesterday said the
leadership of the party has ruled out the possibility of merging with
any political party in the country for now.
“As of today, we
have not decided whether to merge with any political party; we are not
even contemplating it at all. Labour Party is growing everyday. Who
says we cannot be number one? We will grow without merging with
anybody,” he said.
In an interview
with reporters in Ondo town, the official said the party’s good showing
in the National Assembly elections has further made it a force to
reckon with in the nation’s politics.
“The result of the
last parliamentary election showed that the Labour Party came fourth.
We had three senatorial seats and eight federal lawmakers, unlike
before which we had just one federal lawmaker.
“Nobody can set
agenda for us in the Labour Party, we have the right to choose the
people we associate ourselves with, and we have friends in the ACN and
PDP. Politicians in Nigeria are of the same tribe, it is only interest
that divides them,” he said.
Mr Akinlaja also refuted rumours that the Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, plans to re-join the Peoples Democratic Party.
‘We were not bribed’
While justifying
the support of the party for President Goodluck Jonathan in the
presidential election, Mr Akinlaja who was elected as the federal
lawmaker representing Ondo West/East Constituency, said the decision
was taken in the interest of the country.
According to him,
the Labour Party leadership carefully studied the four major
presidential candidates before arriving at the conclusion that Mr
Jonathan had the best track record.
He added “It is
highly mischievous for some people to come up with spurious allegation
that we were given N2 billion before we declared our support for Mr
President. Our support was not to financially induced.
“So, those who are spreading such rumours are heartless. They are
enemies of progress and development of the country. As a party, we will
not hesitate to call President Goodluck Jonathan to order through
objective criticism.”
