Taraba Labour Party goes tough on Philip, denies endorsing Kefas
Jethro Yerga, Jalingo
The leadership of Labour Party in Taraba State has challenged one Evang. Philip Munlip for claiming to be the leader of Labour Party and for endorsing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Candidate, Col. Agbu Kefas (Rtd) as the gubernatorial Candidate of Labour Party in the state.
Adressing a press conference in Jalingo, Thursday, the chairperson of the party in Taraba State Mrs Ester Johnson, accompanied by the gubernatorial Candidate, members of the Presidential Campaign Council in the State, various candidates on the platform and other loyal members of the party, described Philip Munlip’s claims as highest mischiefs that have no effect whatsoever.
The Taraba State LP chairperson emphasized that Philip Munlip was neither the leader nor the gubernatorial Candidate of the party in the state thus, his claim that himself and his party had endorsed the PDP gubernatorial candidate was a mischief aimed at achieving personal benefits.
She called on all Tarabans to disregard the purported endorsement, maintaining that it was just imagination of a desperate man who wants to deceive and mislead members of the party for his personal gains as the party had at no time in the state, abandoned its principal, Mr. Peter Obi and its quest to take over the government of Taraba State in the 2023 elections.
“For emphasis, Labour Party is fully prepared to go into the contest for Governorship and State House of Assembly elections comes 18th March, 2023. Members of the public are therefore, enjoined to be weary of such characters”. She added
In his comment at the event, the gubernatorial Candidate of the party in the state, Sen. Joel Danlami IKenya noted that, the Taraba State Branch of Labour Party had for long conquered poverty of the stomach and had for long, considered development as its priority as such, it would never abandon its mandate and descend so low to engage in such petty deals of endorsing Candidates of other political parties for peanuts.
Sen. Joel IKenya wondered why Philip Munlip that led other members of some support groups of the party to propagate campaign of calumny against his person and the leadership of the party in the state had turned up to be the one endorsing Candidates of other political parties.
“It’s quite unfortunate that the same people who accused me and our great party in the state of sabotaging the efforts of our party’s Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi in the state are the ones endorsing the PDP gubernatorial Candidates.
“We know they have been sponsored to do all these things to sabotage our efforts but you can attest that we got the highest votes in my zone, Southern Taraba for Peter Obi. I couldn’t have sabotage Peter Obi in Northern Zone and Central Zone and produced such massive votes in the Southern Zone.
“All the same, we want to assure our supporters that we are focused, determined and steadfast and we are going to deliver the party in the state and as well, reclaim our mandate at the center through due and legal processes because we were massively voted by Nigerians at the Presidential election”. He said.
Recall that Evang. Philip Munlip who was at a time, the candidate of the party for the 2023 gubernatorial elections was later not recognized by INEC as a candidate following series of turn up of events within the political party in the state.
He had in the previous days, staged a press conference where he endorsed the gubernatorial Candidate of PDP Col. Agbu Kefas, claiming that he was the gubernatorial Candidate and the leader of the party in the state.
