The Labour Party on Sunday dismissed allegations of fraud and political sabotage levelled against it by a disqualified presidential aspirant, Peter Agada, who is demanding a refund of the N150m paid to the party for his 2027 presidential nomination bid.
Agada’s demand was conveyed through a petition issued in Abuja on Saturday by his presidential campaign council, following his exclusion from the party’s presidential primary conducted on May 30.
The council accused the party leadership of collecting expression of interest and nomination form fees from Agada despite knowing that he would not be allowed to contest because of the party’s decision to zone its presidential ticket to the South.
The petition, jointly signed by the Council President, Temilade Craig, and Secretary, Blessing Elaigwe, alleged that the party obtained N150m from Agada, comprising N50m for expression of interest and nomination forms and another N100m in contributions towards the party’s national convention and related activities.
Craig insisted that the party acted in bad faith by accepting the payments, screening Agada and allowing him to continue his campaign before eventually issuing him a disqualification letter shortly before the primary.
