The Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Chief Lamidi Apapa has inaugurated the party’s 24-man caretaker State Working Committee (SWC) for Lagos State with Prince Olumide Adesoyin as the Chairman. The inauguration of the Adesoyin-led State Working Committee is coming on the heels of the earlier position of the Apapa-led National Working Committee of the party disowning the State Executive Committee led by Mrs Dayo Ekong that was appointed by the embattled suspended National Chairman of Labour Party, Mr. Julius Abure.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Chief Apapa while inaugurating the Lagos SWC stated that there is no going back in the NWC’s readiness to steer the party’s affairs.
“Labour Party will not tolerate any act of indiscipline. Labour Party will not accept any act of illegality. Labour Party believes that nobody is above the law and this is why the level we are today is because of our belief in the court process.
“You are on the right side. If the other camp fails to join you, the train will soon move. Tell them to come and join us because we need more people,” he said.
According to him, the party’s grievances with former National Chairman, Mr Julius Abure, started when he allegedly presented himself as being above the law and pointed out that as at today, the courts have restrained Abure from parading himself as National Chairman of the Labour Party.
“Nobody is above the law. Labour Party is a creation of law; if the party is created by law, anyone who violates the law is not a party member. There is nothing for us to fear. There is no going back, Abure has been restrained by the courts. We are not joking”, Apapa said.
Chief Lamidi Apapa advised the Abure-led group to ‘dissipate their energy in legality rather than continuing in blackmailing’ and pointed out that he was not begging to become the National Chairman of Labour Party, but that destiny, nature and right (sic) had made him the Acting National Chairman morally and legally.
Apapa went further to say that his-led NWC had been winning all court cases at the Federal High Court and Appeal Court and expressed confidence that for the forthcoming off-cycles governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa states, INEC would soon accept the list of the LP candidates produced through the primaries conducted by the national working Committee he leads.
“INEC is bound to accept our list because the commission is a creation of law and cannot be above the law. Whether INEC likes it or not, it must recognise our list of candidates. INEC is bound by law to upload the names of those that we conducted primary for. It is an issue of law,” Apapa said.
The newly appointed State Chairman of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Prince Olumide Adesoyin said that his team had been given the power and authority to steer the affairs of the party in the state while the National Vice Chairman (South West) of the party, Mr. Abass Aroyeun, in his welcome remarks said that Apapa had given the party a new lease of life and ability to breathe and urged the party faithful nationwide to remain a pillar of support to Apapa-led NWC for the party to succeed.
The members of the Lagos SWC that was inaugurated include Omotayo Anjorin (Deputy Chairman), Olanrewaju Ibrahim (Deputy Chairman), Kayode Yusuf (Deputy Chairman), Felix Odusanya (Deputy Chairman), Peter Olusegun (Deputy Chairman), Nnaemeka Anajemba (Secretary) and Richard Oliseyenum (Assistant Secretary).
Others include Azubike Peters (Treasurer), Akinrele Abioye (Financial Secretary), Kunle Okunola (Organising Secretary), Ademola Hassan (Auditor), Abass Ibrahim (Legal Adviser), Dupe Awe (Woman Leader), Elliot Ebije (Youth Leader), Samad Okufuwa (Publicity Secretary) among others.
The event was also attended by LGA and Ward Chairmen of the Labour Party and other stakeholders loyal to Chief Lamidi Apapa including. Labour Party NWC members in attendance include Mr. Abayomi Arabambi (National Publicity Secretary), Alhaji Saleh Lawan (Secretary), Prince Favour Reuben (National Organising Secretary), and Alhaji Mohammed Alkali (National Vice Chairman), among other leaders.