LP disowns Arabambi over Obi credential case

File: Abayomi Arabambi, a chieftain of the Labour Party and former national publicity secretary of the party

The Labour Party has disowned its former National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, who instituted legal action seeking access to the academic and service records of National Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi.

In a statement on Monday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, insisted that Arabambi was no longer a member of the party, having been among 25 members suspended by its National Executive Council in March for alleged anti-party activities.

The suspension, according to him, was subsequently ratified by its National Convention on April 28, 2026, after which the affected members ceased to be members of the LP.

The party’s image maker said the clarification became necessary after reports described Arabambi as an LP chieftain who had sued the West African Examinations Council, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the National Youth Service Corps over Obi’s credentials.

He said, “While the Labour Party wishes to refrain from commenting on the substance or otherwise of the litigant’s case before the court, particularly as Mr Peter Obi is not a member of the Party, we wish to notify the general public that Abayomi Arabambi is not a member of the Labour Party.”

Asogwa added that since the decision to suspend and subsequently expel the affected members, “no organ of the Party has sat to revisit or reverse the decision concerning the expelled members.”

The party further warned that any representation by Arabambi as a chieftain or representative of the party was unauthorised.

“If Arabambi has presented himself to the public as a chieftain or representative of the Labour Party, the general public is hereby notified that such representation is entirely unauthorised and, prima facie, amounts to impersonation,” he said.

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The spokesman added that the party’s lawyers were reviewing the matter to determine possible legal action, including a petition to law enforcement authorities.

The clarification came barely 24 hours after the NDC dismissed the suits filed by Arabambi, challenging him to produce evidence suggesting that Obi’s academic credentials were questionable.

Arabambi filed three separate suits at the Federal High Court in Abuja against WAEC, UNN and the NYSC under the Freedom of Information Act.

He is seeking orders compelling the institutions to release official records relating to certificates allegedly issued to Obi.

However, Arabambi said he was not asking the court to determine whether the certificates Obi submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 presidential election were genuine or forged.

Rather, he said he wanted access to existing records from the institutions from which the status and particulars of the certificates could be ascertained.

Reacting to the suits, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, told PUNCH Online in an exclusive interview that Obi had a verifiable academic pedigree.

Director questioned the basis for Arabambi’s demand for the records, noting that the litigant had acknowledged that he was not challenging the genuineness of Obi’s certificates.