Nigeria Labour Congress, on Monday, nullified the National Convention that re-elected the National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, and returned his National Working Committee to office
Consequently, stakeholders resolved that to fill the vacuum, the congress will set up a transition committee to oversee the affairs of the party pending when new officers will be elected in three months’ time.
Representative of the Chairman of NLC Political Commission, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku ; former President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Abdulwahed Omar; Chairman, LP Board of Trustees, Sylvester Ejiofor; Coordinator of Obidient Movement, Dr. Moses Paul and LP Plateau Governorship Candidate, Chief Yohana Margif, attended the meeting.
Others are Coordinator of Labour Party Patriotic Members Congress, Dr. Kingsley Okundaye; Kaduna LP Governorship Candidate, Jonathan Asake and representative of Persons with Disability in Labour Party, Ihekwoaba Paul.
The resolution taken by the unionists on Monday also raised concerns on the need to conduct a forensic audit of LP in line with the demand of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following allegations of corruption, forgery and fraud levelled against the Abure-led leadership of the party.
The communique released after the NLC stakeholders’ meeting partly read, “Owing to the current vacuum in the leadership of the Labour Party, the NLC Political Commission consequent on its status in the Constitution of the Labour Party as a registered trustee of the Labour Party, a status that was further buttressed by a Federal High Court consent judgment delivered on March 20, 2018 by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, moved for an immediate constitution of a transition committee with a mandate to set up structures at national, state, local government and ward level for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the Labour Party.
“The stakeholders meeting passed a vote of no-confidence on the purported Labour Party national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State and regards as inconsequential the leadership that claims to have emerged from the illegal Nnewi Convention. INEC and all relevant security organisations are hereby notified and should be officially written immediately to recognise the transition committee as the interim leadership of LP pending the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention
“The committee once constituted should fully take over the secretariats of the Labour Party all over Nigeria and shall immediately set up an assets recovery process of all the properties of the Labour Party. The committee shall also ensure that all the cases of fraud, impersonation and forgery of government documents pending against a few discredited former officers of the Labour Party are forensically audited and culprits are diligently prosecuted as demanded by leader of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi. It is unfortunate that the actions of these few dishonourable characters have splashed mud on the white satin of Labour Party.
“Pursuant to the foregoing, the committee shall within three months of its constitution ensure the conduct of an inclusive national convention of the party starting from ward congresses to local government congresses to state congresses culminating in an all-inclusive and expansive national convention in Abuja. Finally, we reiterate that the Labour Party is a Party for all Nigerians regardless of ethnic, religious, regional, social and economic orientation or status.”
Reacting, LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said the party’s NWC cannot be intimidated by the NLC stakeholders and their ‘co-travellers.’
According to him, “We are not interested in whatever they do and LP won’t give credence to any statement they issue. You can imagine the level of impunity with which these people are acting. They have no power to do anything.”
The vote of no confidence passed on Abure and his NWC comes few hours after some LP supporters in Abuja protested harassment and continuous interference in the affairs of the party.
The protesters, who carried placards with various inscriptions that read “If you are not for Abure, go and seek another political party” and “Abure is our chairman”, vowed to resist any attempt by the NLC to take over the party.
The protesters sang solidarity songs, chanting, ‘We want Abure’ rent as they marched from the new Federal Capital Territory chapter of the party secretariat to the Gudu venue of the NLC stakeholders meeting.
But security operatives stopped them from entering the premises.