The extended stakeholders of the Labour Party (LP) has constituted a 29-member national caretaker committee to be headed by a former Minister of State for Finance, Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, to run the affairs of the party for three months leading to its national convention.
The 2023 deputy governorship candidate of the party in Plateau State, Edward Pwajok, disclosed this on Tuesday while reading a five-point communique issued by the stakeholders at the end of their meeting in Umuahia, Abia State capital.
Embatlled national chairman of the party, Julius Abure, was, however, absent at the stakeholder meeting, which was called at the instance of the Abia State governor, Alex Otti, and chaired by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Pwajok said the committee, which has Darlington Nwokocha as secretary, was to ensure that ward, local government, state congresses, and the convention of the party were conducted according to the constitution of the LP.
He noted that other members of the committee were drawn from the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), including including former governors and members of both State and National Assemblies.
Pwajok added that the stateholders commended the Abia governor for his performance in office and urged him to continue in the direction he has charted.
In his address, the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, extolled the Governor Otti for his efforts at repositioning the party as well as convening the meeting when it mattered most.
“We are not here to suspend or sack anybody, but to rebuild the party. Whatever we are going to do in future, everybody is free to participate in it and nobody will be excluded,” Obi noted.
He added, “Even after this meeting, we will continue with more consultations and reconciliation. In going forward, let everybody learn to sacrifice. Even the committee will have to abide by the law.”
Similarly, the Senator representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, Victor Umeh, said allowing the current leadership of the party to continue in office was like building on quicksand, saying nobody was against anybody.
“What brought us here is a doctrine of necessity. Our party is currently ruderless and once your party is not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, you will be wasting your time,” the lawmaker said.
Earlier, in his remarks, Governor Otti said the meeting became necessary to resolve both internal and lingering issues around the leadership of the party before they escalate.
He cited a recent occasion when INEC failed to invite the party to an event due to non-recognition of its leadership following a subsisting court judgement.
Responding on behalf of other members of the national caretaker committee, Senator Nenadi Usman, who once represented Kaduna South in the Senate, said they had been saddled with a huge responsibility, assuring that the committee will deliver as expected.
