By NewsBits
Prof. Pat Utomi (left), with Peter Obi, Labour Party presidential candidate
Prof. Pat Utomi the leader of Labour Party, has disclosed that the manifesto of the party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi for the 2023 elections will be released before campaign starts next week.
According to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), campaign for presidential and national elections officially kicks off next Wednesday September 28, 2022.
While receiving the leadership of Progressive Movement for Better Nigeria (PM4BN) in Abuja, Utomi said the document is ready but is carefully kept under raps to avoid opposition candidates from stealing it. According to him, “Obi’s manifesto is ready and it will be released before campaign starts. We have it but we decided to keep it secret until campaigns starts”.’
On the frequent criticism that the party has no structure to win a national election, Utomi said those who held such belief are ignorant, adding that the party actually has a super structure far bigger than that of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) and the main opposition’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Those who understand what structure means know that LP has better structure than PDP and APC in the Nigerian terminology. NLC (Nigerian Labour Congress) has 10 million registered members. We are going to energise all of them into a structure so that it becomes a super structure.
“We have a big tent which constitutes several social movements, several political parties with Labour Party as part of it. Several of these political movements like Congress of Professionals, which is great Nigerian project consists of six million members in every part of Nigeria.
“From these groups, we have about seven super structures far bigger than ether APC and PDP. We also have faith-based structures, religious movements; we have structures everywhere. With the political party and several political movements, we have a structure.
“We have a secretariat directorate reaching out to all support groups. There are special apps and portals from which specific assignments go out, their performance measured, get feedback. It is designed to harmonise them into being productive”.
On how the party intends to mobile their support groups, he said” ‘’We will create an enabling environment. By next week we are going to set up a committee on both fund raising and campaign processes; mobile-based apps, portals from which performance will be measured and we get feedback from the polling booths.
“There is a body from the US that will train a lot of support groups. We will create a group; a special group that is going to create people on fund raising and campaign process from us.
‘’You send us proposal of what you intend to do, and then we see what you want to do and how to partner with you to generate big tent for Peter Obi campaign organisation. Donor organisations are going to raise fund for the support groups like you and some Nigerians who are willing to support the movement are also available to lend their support”.
Earlier in her address, the National Coordinator of PM4BN, Ms Stella Ezeh told Utomi that the essence of the visit was to intimate him about the group’s support for the presidential bid of Obi and his running mate, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.
She said that the team came to seek ways of collaboration in ensuring the success of the Labour Party candidate in the forthcoming general elections, as campaign commences next week. The PM4BN coordinator assured Utomi that the organisation would work hard to making sure that Obi succeeds in the elections.
