The leadership crisis currently rocking the Labour Party may take a new dimension as stakeholders of the Nigeria Labour Congress meet on Monday to take a decision on the development and also deliberate on the return of Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman.
It was gathered on Sunday night that among other decisions, the NLC stakeholders will be proposing a caretaker committee to take over the running of the affairs of the party.
It was learnt that already, invitations for the meeting scheduled for Monday (tomorrow) in Abuja, had been sent out to all the relevant stakeholders of the union as well as the members of the NLC Political Commission.
It was further gathered that during Monday’s Abuja meeting, a caretaker committee will be set up to take over the leadership of the LP from Abure.
Previous attempt by the party’s Board of Trustees to seize power from Abure and take over LP leadership had failed.
A few days ago, a group of retired workers under the aegis of Lagos Assembly of Labour Veterans and Trade Unionists protested had demanded an immediate resignation of the LP chairman.
The retirees also urged the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, to resign for failing to protect their interest and his handling of the leadership crisis in the party.
As of the time of filing this story, NLC spokesman, Benson Upah, had yet to react to the development.
But a few hours after the NLC invitation went viral, Labour Party leadership kicked against the planned meeting, describing it as an illegal jamboree of some ‘drama boys.’
LP frowned at the proposed gathering in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, titled, ‘Proposed NLC Stakeholders meeting a jamboree by drama boys, illegal and outcome a nullity.’
He called on law enforcement agencies to abort the gathering and go after the unionists before their planned action ‘degenerates into public nuisance.’
Ifoh said, “It has come to the knowledge of the leadership of Labour Party of a letter of invitation trending in some sections of the media purportedly written by some desperate characters in the Nigeria Labour Congress, inviting some Nigerians to an illegal stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold on Monday in Abuja wherein they propose to appoint a caretaker committee for the Labour Party.
“This meeting being organised by some drama boys and attention seeking personalities in the NLC is illegal as we have not authorised it and it is not supported by any law in the land and therefore its outcome, a nullity. We are therefore calling on all genuine members of the party to disregard and shun the meeting.
“Few days ago, the Federal Government raised the electricity tariff to about 300 percent, and the NLC has neither responded to it nor called out its members to protest the increment. But it is quick to convene an unlawful meeting of disgruntled members who are not even party members.
“We are calling on the law enforcement agencies to rise up to the occasion and abort this gathering which may likely degenerate to public nuisance. NLC does not have any proprietary rights over the Labour Party and therefore cannot continue to lay claim to its ownership.”