NLC Sacks Abure, To Audit LP Accounts

Following a gathering of its interested parties, the Nigeria Labour Congress on Monday annulled the national conference that had reinstated Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party and his National Working Committee.

The stakeholders announced that the congress would form a transition committee to manage the party’s operations while new officials are chosen in three months, filling the void.

Representatives from the NLC Political Commission Chairman, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku; former Nigeria Labour Congress President, Abdulwahed Omar; Chairman, LP Board of Trustees, Sylvester Ejiofor; Obidient Movement Coordinator, Dr. Moses Paul; and LP Plateau governorship candidate, Chief Yohana Margif, were present at the event.

The others were Ihekwoaba Paul, the Labour Party’s spokesman for people with disabilities, Jonathan Asake, the Kaduna LP governorship candidate, and Dr. Kingsley Okundaye, the coordinator of the Labour Party Patriotic Members Congress.

The unions’ decision on Monday also sparked worries about the necessity of performing a forensic investigation of LP bank accounts, as demanded by Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, in response to accusations of fraud, forgery, and corruption made against the party’s leadership.

These were included in the statement that DDM News was given access to following the NLC stakeholders’ meeting.

It 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 in 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.”

When called for a reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, said the NWC could not be intimidated by the NLC stakeholders and their ‘co-travellers.’

He said, “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 in Abure and his NWC comes a few hours after scores of LP supporters took to the streets of Abuja to protest harassment and continuous interference in the affairs of the party.

The protesters, who went carrying 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 to take over control of the party.

Solidarity songs of ‘We want Abure’ rent the air as the protest march took off from the new Federal Capital Territory chapter of the party secretariat to the Gudu venue of the NLC stakeholders meeting.

They were, however, prevented by security operatives from gaining access to the premises.

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