#EndSARS: Labour Party to review campaign council list after backlash

How it started: The party made this known barely 24 hours after the unveiling of the 1,234-man Obi-Datti campaign team whose composition has generated angry reactions from many Nigerians.

Most of the criticisms were directed at the addition of a former Army spokesperson, Major General John Enenche (retd.), into the Presidential Advisory Council of its PCC.

Lekki Massacre denier: Enenche, a former Director of Defence Information, had caught an infamous figure following his claim that no killings occurred during the October 20, 2020 #EndSARS protest at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos.

The ex-General had claimed that the scene that was broadcast in realtime on DJ Switch‘s Instagram account, showing #EndSARS protesters being pelted with bullets of soldiers from Nigerian Army, was in fact photoshopped.

The video of his claims re-emerged on Twitter shortly after the list was released on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.

Alleged marginalisation: The inclusion of Enenche was not the only controversy that trailed the list of Presidential Campaign Team of Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, with allegation of marginalisation of other ethnic groups in favour of the South-East also coming to the fore.

The more prominent of this is the appointment of persons of Igbo extraction as state coordinators for Lagos and Sokoto States.

Also joining in the condemnation is a United States-based Professor and social commentator, Farooq Kperogi, who said the Labour Party has failed to distinguish itself from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Kperogi’s word: “The inclusion of Enenche on Obi’s campaign list is significant because the core of Obi’s youthful supporters who’re engaged because they’re enraged are drawn from #EndSARS agitators for whom the cover-up of the massacre of protesters in Lekki is a sore point.

“To put a denier of the mass massacre of their comrades in the campaign council of a candidate they support and campaign for is both insensitive and disrespectful.

“And why does a campaign that is fuelled by a desire for difference need nearly 1,300 people to sit in a council? That’s unwieldy. How is it different from the APC and PDP? In fact, APC and PDP are better. APC’s initial list was just 422 and PDP’s was 520.”

Labour Party vows to make amends: However, reacting to the development, the chief spokesperson for the LP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Tanko Yunusa, told The PUNCH on Thursday that the party was aware of the concerns raised and would make necessary adjustments.

Speaking on the choice of Igbo as state coordinators for Lagos and Sokoto, Yunusa said many people complaining about the list never showed interest.

Yunusa’s word: “The truth is: how many of them showed interest in all what we are doing? Is it not now they are trying to show interest?

“Many of them did not show interest. But the truth is that we are happy now that they are showing interest, they are giving us consultancy and we will take corrections. Let them bring all the names, we will accommodate them.

“All of the issues that have been raised, we will take care of it. We are a listening party and we will do the right thing.

“Every observation is being taken care of and as a listening party that is ready to take over power, it is just like presenting ourselves for scrutiny to the public, and the public who (is) driving us has spoken, so we will deal with the matter internally and accordingly.”