The Labour Party has strongly refuted allegations that its leaders are plotting to overthrow the Bola Tinubu-led federal government, describing the claims as a baseless frame-up aimed at stoking fear, silencing dissent, and diverting attention from Nigeria’s mounting national challenges.
In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media to the Interim National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, condemned the allegations as “reckless, laughable, and deeply suspicious.”
The controversy stems from a petition reportedly submitted to the National Security Adviser by Abayomi Arabambi, an expelled party member who, according to the party, has been falsely parading himself as its spokesman.
Arabambi’s petition accuses top Labour Party figures — including former presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero, Senator Victor Umeh, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, and Dr. Yunusa Tanko — of planning a One Million Man March to serve as a cover for a coup d’état and an attempt to reclaim the party’s Utako secretariat in Abuja.
But the Labour Party dismissed the claims as “phantom tales by moonlight,” insisting it neither planned nor authorised any protest or street action.
“Let it be stated unequivocally: the Labour Party is not involved in any protest, nor are we interested in reclaiming a property we abandoned months ago,” Asogwa stated.
He explained that following the Supreme Court judgment of April 4, which affirmed Senator Usman’s leadership, the party formally notified security agencies and requested enforcement of the ruling. When no action followed, the party relocated to a new, more secure operational base.
“What is deeply troubling is the attempt to link an imaginary protest to a treasonable offence,” the statement said. “How a peaceful demonstration — which we never planned — could morph into a coup plot defies reason.”
The party also raised concerns over alleged harassment of its leaders by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), based on Arabambi’s claims. It described the development as reminiscent of “military-era tactics,” warning against a return to an era where political dissent is criminalised through trumped-up treason charges.
“We’ve seen this playbook before — phantom coup plots used to silence opposition voices,” the party warned.
The Labour Party called on security agencies to investigate the petition’s origin and expose those behind what it described as a “cowardly and dangerous political theatre.” It also urged the Nigerian public to reject what it sees as an attempt to derail democracy and shift focus from real governance issues.
“This is a poorly scripted act of desperation,” the party said, reaffirming its commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and peaceful political engagement.