The national chairman of the Zenith Labor Party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, has clarified the party’s affiliation with Akin Osuntokun, the newly appointed director general of the Labor Party’s Presidential Campaign Council.
In a statement made available to The PUNCH on Friday, ZLP stated that Osuntokun resigned from the party in August 2022 and was therefore free to associate with other parties.
Labor Party presidential candidate Peter Obi had announced Osuntokun, a former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, as his campaign general manager on Tuesday days after Doyin Okupe stepped down.
Following the appointment, there were concerns that Osuntokun would remain a candidate for senatorial in Ekiti State under the ZLP.
Clearing the air, Nwayanwu, who is also the ZLP’s presidential candidate, maintained that Osuntokun had ceased to be a party member.
In a statement on December 29, 2022, Nwayanwu stated that the party held no grudge against Osuntokun.
The statement read: “The controversy generated by the appointment of Mr. Akin Osuntokun as CEO of the campaign organization HE Peter OBI is unnecessary.
“Akin Osuntokun resigned from the Zenith Labor Party in August 2022 and is therefore no longer a member of our Party.
“Before his resignation from ZLP, he held the ticket as a candidate for senatorial in Ekiti State. At the time of his resignation, we could not replace him because the window allowed by the Electoral Law for substitution had passed.
“We do not hold a grudge against him because it is his fundamental right to join and leave any organization. We wish you the best in your new, greener pasture.
“We believe that this will put an end to the barrage of inquiries that have been made to us in this regard.”
