There is an apparent crisis in Labour Party (LP) over the suspension of its national chairman, Julius Abure, by the Edo State chapter.
Abure, who came to the Labour Party as its national legal adviser, later emerged the national chairman which provided the platform for Peter Obi to run in the presidential election.
Under the leadership of Abure, the party was able to win the Abia gubernatorial election, eight senatorial districts and 34 House of Representatives seats with state Houses of Assembly members.
The national headquarters had said its attention was called to the press conference held yesterday by some “unknown faces,” assembled in one room in Abuja wherein they pronounced a suspension on Abure.
The party said some spurious allegations were made against Abure which were untrue and concocted by the sponsors of the press conference.
“We however deemed it fit to make some responses, “ a statement issued by the national secretary, Mallam Farouk Umar, said, adding that the young men they saw on the video were apparently not from the Labour Party in Edo State as claimed.
“The executives of the party in the state, local government and my ward are well known to the party. None of them was at the press conference. We make bold to say that they are people assembled and rented from some Abuja slums and paid to read a prepared speech given to them.
Crisis Hits Labour Party As Leadership Rejects ‘Suspension’ Of National Chairman
“Again, our party’s constitution is clear on who can suspend and who cannot suspend the national chairman. They should go and read the party constitution. It is only the national convention that can suspend the national chairman of Labour Party. It also must be through such a convention called for the purpose of the suspension of the national chairman.”
Earlier, the state ward executives led by the wards chairman, Martins Osigbemhe, had in a press conference in Abuja, announced the suspension of the national chairman over allegations of scandals, forgery, perjury, mismanagement of funds, anti-party activities, among others.
In a statement signed by seven out of the 11 members of the ward executives, Osigbemhe pointed out that the decision to suspend the national chairman was reached after the leadership of the wards thoroughly reviewed Abure’s conduct at the end of the just-concluded general elections.
