A former Labour Party governorship candidate in Ebonyi State, Comrade Eze Oko Splendour, has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, and several others over allegations of forgery, perjury, criminal conspiracy and vandalism.
In a public statement, Oko Splendour alleged that in 2022 certain officials within the Labour Party conspired to unlawfully substitute his name as the party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Ebonyi State. He claimed that his signature was forged and that fraudulent documents, including a withdrawal letter, membership card and sworn affidavit, were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to effect the substitution.
According to him, the dispute was litigated from the Federal High Court in Abakaliki through the Court of Appeal in Enugu and eventually to the Supreme Court in Abuja, where he said judgments were delivered in his favour.
Oko Splendour further stated that he petitioned law enforcement authorities, including the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja, alleging forgery, perjury and criminal conspiracy. He claimed that investigations had been concluded and that both the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation had authorised prosecution of the named individuals. As of press time, no official confirmation of such authorisation had been publicly released.
The former candidate also condemned what he described as vandalism at the Labour Party’s national secretariat, alleging that individuals linked to the internal dispute were involved. Details surrounding the reported incident remain unclear, and party officials have not issued a formal response to the allegations.
The developments come amid ongoing internal tensions within the Labour Party following the 2023 general elections. Political analysts note that leadership disputes and litigation over candidacies have affected several parties in the post-election period.
Efforts to obtain comments from representatives of Julius Abure and other individuals named in the allegations were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
The matter is expected to test both party cohesion and the willingness of law enforcement agencies to act on high-profile political petitions if formal charges are filed.
