The crisis rocking the Labour Party last week exacerbated following a press release on March 15 by the Nigerian Labour Congress Political Commission, which accused the national chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure of running the party like a sole administrator as well as condemning what it described as the clandestine scheduling of a Labour Party national convention by the Abure-led Labour Party leadership without the knowledge and buy-in of critical stakeholders of the party.
Chris Uyot, the NLC Political Commission Chairperson in the press release announced that the leadership of the NLC Political Commission has passed a vote of no confidence on the Labour Party national chairman Julius Abure and called for his immediate resignation from office. Chris Uyot equally demanded the constitution of caretaker transition committee for Labour Party that would organise what he described as “a legitimate and all-inclusive national convention” for the Labour Party.
The NLC in that press release listed the many transgressions and misdemeanours of Abure including embezzlement of N3.5 billion party funds, as alleged by the party’s national treasurer, Ms Oluchi Opara. A revelation that earned Ms Oluchi Opara a six month suspension courtesy of Julius Abure. NLC further revealed how Julius Abure attempted to illegally extend his tenure by two years in April, 2023, which eventually failed.
The Abure-led national working committee of the Labour Party however came out firing from all cylinders in response to the NLC’s call for Abure’s resignation and postponement of the Labour Party national convention, accusing Joe Ajaero of desperately trying to replace Julius Abure as LP national chairman. In a full-throat attack against the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, Abure called on Mr. Ajaero to first resign as NLC President if he is interested in vying for the position of the Labour Party national chairmanship position.
Abure also accused the NLC President of rascality describing the NLC and its political commission as a bundle of contradiction and paradox and frowned at the undue interference of the NLC in the affairs of the Labour Party. Abure also stated that members and officials of the NLC are not card-carrying members of the Labour Party and emphasised that the Labour Party has a life of its own different from that of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The Labour Party noted that it would be going ahead with the national convention on March 27th, 2024 in Umuahia where new leadership of the party is expected to emerge. From the foregoing, the battle line has been drawn across multiple fronts and interests within the Labour Party. A factional National Chairman of the party, Chief Lamidi Apapa is still in court trying to remove Julius Abure from office while Obidient social media influencers are on one corner fighting dirty over funds that exchange hands for political support.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi who has become the de facto national leader of the party has so far appeared incapable of resolving the many crisis threatening to tear the party apart. This may be due to the feeling that Mr. Obi himself is leading one camp in the Labour Party crisis and would therefore not be neutral enough to midwife any reconciliation efforts to resolve the crisis.