Utomi claims rival parties’ supporters paying millions of Naira to join Labour Party

A chieftain of the Labour Party, Prof Pat Utomi, claimed on Tuesday that politicians from different parties were paying millions of naira to the party officials in a bid to switch camp ahead of the February 25 election.

Utomi stated this during the commissioning of the Independent Campaign Council Secretariat of The Big Tent in Lagos.

The Big Tent is a coalition of political parties, social movements, and civil society organisations in support of the presidential ambition of the LP candidate, Peter Obi.

The political economist also blamed politicians for the country’s challenges.

He said: “The focus of power over purpose has led to transactions of nature where people don’t seem to matter. As we speak right now, some of those political parties have been paying millions and millions to Labour Party officials to decamp. But they still forget that what we need is a new Nigeria that our children can live in happily without insecurity.

READ ALSO: Utomi urges INEC to investigate alleged non-distribution of PVCs in Lagos

“Our country needs to be renewed. It is easy to blame anybody for the problems of Nigeria, but it’s time to forge ahead, look ahead and forget yesterday. The naked truth is that yesterday has been costly, extremely costly. The country that was bequeathed to us by our founding fathers was a great country of promise. I am fond of reminding people of 1960.

“Central to the challenge of development that we have is our failure to build real political parties. I believe that was the beginning of the founding of the APC. In the founding of the APC, they focused on grabbing power over purpose which prevented a real political party from emerging and we’ve seen the damages that have done to Nigeria.”

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