Victor Ezeja
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, has commiserated with the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure, over the tragic fire incident that razed his house in Abuja on Wednesday.
Abure and his family members reportedly escaped what the Labour Party alleged was an assassination attempt on them.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a statement via his official X handle on Thursday, Obi said he received the report of the fire incident with shock. He expressed his sympathy to the Abure’s family and thanked God for saving their lives.
“I received with shock the report of a fire outbreak in the Abuja home of the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barr Julius Abure,” Obi stated.
“I sincerely sympathize with Barr Abure and his family, who must be traumatized by now by this sad incident, while thanking God for their lives.
“While we await the outcome of the investigation from the Police and the fire service on the cause of the fire incident, I thank all those whose timely intervention helped to minimize the damages,” the former Anambra State governor added.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, alleged that the incident was an assassination attempt on the party national chairman’s life.
Ifoh stated that though the LP National Chairman and his family did not sustain any serious injury, the victims were rushed to a private health facility for medical treatment.
According to the LP publicity secretary, the fire started around 1 am while Abure and the members of his family were asleep.
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Ifoh said: “According to a member of the family, who narrated the incident, the family was woken up by neighbours and security men living in the compound who raised the alarm. The entire family was trapped as the inferno had reached the staircase, making it impossible for Abure and his family to escape.
“However, it took divine intervention for the national chairman and his family to escape after neighbours and security men gallantly pulled down one of the windows upstairs, making way for the family to escape.
“Men of the fire service arrived shortly after Abure and his family were evacuated.
“Abure and his family were rushed to a private hospital where they are presently receiving treatment. Their condition is however stable.”
There has been an ongoing tussle between Abure and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress over control of the Labour Party.
The NLC, under the leadership of Joe Ajaero, had recently protested at LP state offices nationwide in an attempt to force Abure out of office. They accused him of mismanaging the party’s finances and also, not carrying vital stakeholders along and not respecting an agreement reached earlier about organising the party’s national convention.
Abure alleged that the NLC members vandalised and carted away party property during the protest.
He subsequently organised a national convention of the party at Nnewi, Anambra State where he was reelected as the national chairman including some other members of the party’s national working committee.
Peter Obi, Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti and a couple of other members of the party elected into national and state assemblies were conspicuously absent from the convention.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
