The Labour Party on Tuesday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to reprimand and caution the All Progressives Congress spokesman, Felix Morka, over an alleged threat to its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The ultimatum follows a heated exchange between the ruling party and the Obidient Movement, sparked by concerns over the perceived threat to the former Anambra State governor’s life.
The hostility was a fallout of Sunday’s interview on Arise Television, where Morka claimed that Obi has ‘crossed the line’ in his recent criticism of Tinubu’s administration.
Morka claimed that Obi is desperately seeking to incite Nigerians into bringing down the current government and ended his argument with ‘Obi has crossed the line.’
In Tuesday’s open letter addressed to the President, the Director General of the Labour Party Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration, Marcel Ngogbehei, warned against targeting Obi over his New Year’s State of the Nation message.
The LP chieftain raised concerns that how Morka went about his statements showed that his disagreement goes beyond party rivalry and the principle of free speech required in a democracy.
He said, “These statements, which target Peter Obi, a respected global figure and LP Presidential candidate in the last election, go beyond political rivalry and pose a direct threat to our democracy, peace, and unity.
“Your Excellency, as a key leader in the opposition for many years, you and the APC were beneficiaries of the freedoms and protections afforded by Nigeria’s democratic system under the then President Goodluck Jonathan, which allowed you to challenge the status quo and ultimately ascend to power.
“We, therefore, call on you to reprimand Mr Felix Morka for his inflammatory statements within the next seven days. Should Your Excellency choose not to act decisively by openly condemning Mr Morka’s statements, it will send a troubling signal to Nigerians and the international community that your administration is either complicit in or indifferent to threats against democracy and political dissent.
“It is imperative for your administration to distance itself from any rhetoric or actions that threaten free speech, suppress opposition, or endanger the lives of political leaders.”
