The crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) has taken another dimension as Barr Julius Abure and the Lamide Apapa -led factions have traded words over a planned National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Bauchi State.
The Apapa faction had earlier invited their presidential candidate Peter Obi and other leaders of the party to a convention taking place in Bauchi.
But in a swift reaction, the Abure faction in a statement issued by the acting publicity secretary, Mr Obiorah Ifoh, said the suspended Labour Party national vice chairman Lamidi Apapa’s faction was planning an illegal, fake and unauthorised NEC.
“It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Labour Party of a proposed illegal, fake and unauthourised National Executive Council meeting organised by the suspended deputy national chairman, Lamidi Apapa and his renegade cohorts, expected to hold on May 3 in Bauchi State.
“This is coming barely two weeks after the party held its very successful NEC meeting in Asaba, Delta state that was attended by virtually all NEC members including 36 state chairmen and Secretaries, all members of the National Working Committee, most of the elected members of the national assembly, leader and presidential candidate of the party, Mr. Peter Obi, party trustees including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) amongst others.
“In a memo signed by the former deputy national chairman, Apapa, they extended the invitation to some of our elected leaders including our presidential candidate, people they neither supported during their campaigns nor recognized as leaders of the party. These are people they are surreptitiously working to terminate their cases in the various tribunals. We concluded that the temerity to even invite these leaders was purely for publicity ops and stunts which they knew were dead on arrival.
“It is only mischievous minds that will want to obey the FCT High Court order without also respecting the Edo state High Court order which bars any party agents including these renegades from tampering with the status quo even when they know that both courts are of equal and coordinate jurisdiction.
“Article 13:2A of our party constitution is clear on the composition of the Labour Party NEC, and it did not state that expelled and suspended officers of the party shall regroup and convene a NEC of the party. The question is; who are they hoping to attend the NEC, if not their usual customers; touts, market women, street hawkers and people who are not members of the party.
“We are using this medium to alert Nigerians that the proposed NEC meeting scheduled to hold on the 3rd of May in Bauchi is illegal. They have no powers to call for NEC, they have been suspended by NEC. This illegal gathering has been reported to the Police, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and they have no intention to monitor the shenanigan. INEC in any case does not even know of any other Labour Party as no court in Nigeria has given any judgement on the case.
“We are also by this statement calling on the hotel management where they are proposing to hold the illegal meeting not to give out their venue for illegal activities for obvious consequences. Members of the general public should disregard them and should have nothing to do with them,” Ifoh said.
Meanwhile, the Apapa Lamidi’s faction of the Labour Party has said that their NEC meeting in Bauchi State is lawful adding that Abure can never and ever return as LP national chairman.
A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of their faction, Dr Abayomi Arabambi, said the leadership of Labour Party has intercepted a release signed by a personal assistant to ousted and indicted former National Chairman of Labour Party Julius Abure who the police has indicted for massive corruption and who was further restrained by the FCT high court on April 5th from parading himself as national chairman of Labour directing loyal party leaders to shun the National Executive Council meeting of our great Party scheduled for Bauchi, Bauchi State on May 3, 2023.
“Ordinarily, as a law-abiding party executive who believes in the rule of law, we consider his write up as a mere ranting of an ant, the general public must also know that his group which he professes to represent is not known by the leadership of Labour Party as the group he claims to represent has ceased to exist until the court decides otherwise.
“A local proverb says show me your friends and I will tell you whom you are, it’s not a surprise that said personal assistant issued such statement because as a group of criminals and forgers, he himself need to be reawaken to the reality on ground that Julius Abure corrupt leadership is gone for good and today, Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa remains the acting chairman of Labour Party and by the constitution of Our Party, he has the constitutional right to call for NEC meeting and Julius Abure that the court has ordered not to parade himself with Umar Farouk, Oluchi Opara and Clement Ojukwu as national officers of Labour Party pending the final determination of the originating summon,” he said.
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