THE chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has been re-elected as the party’s National chairman despite opposition from the Joe Ajaero-led Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
Delegates from across the country gathered in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday, March 27, to elect Abure for a second term by a unanimous affirmation.
The convention’s chairman and the deputy governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu, announced Abure as the winner at the party’s national convention.
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A battle for supremacy has been going on between Abure and NLC leader Ajaero.
The NLC had earlier demanded that Abure step down as party chairman and that a caretaker transition committee be established to plan the party’s “legal and inclusive national convention.”
On Wednesday, March 20, workers were prevented from accessing the party headquarters in Abuja.
The workers later gathered outside the premises, chanting anti-party songs and calling for the chairman’s resignation, whom they accused of financial misconduct.
The leadership crisis assumed a new dimension after Ajaero was accused by the party’s National Working Committee of trying to unseat Abure.
In the letter by the NLC, Abure and the NWC were accused of proposing a “secret” national convention in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, on March 27 that would re-elect Abure to continue leading the Labour Party as a “sole administrator.”
The letter was jointly signed by the NLC political commission’s chairman, Titus Amba, and secretary, Chris Uyot.
The LP’s national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh, responded to the NLC in a statement titled “Resign as NLC President to Contest LP Chairmanship, Labour Party advises Ajero.”
In the response, the LP said the party’s leadership would not accept orders from unionists who do not possess party membership cards.
THE Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday, March 6, affirmed Abure as the LP national chairman.
A Justice at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Hamza Muazu, had, in 2023, granted an ex-parte order, ordering that Abure and two other national officers stop parading themselves as leaders of the party for allegedly forging national documents.
In the judgement, the judge, Hamman Barka, held that the High Court was wrong to assume jurisdiction on the matter.
Delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Abure challenging the High Court’s decision, Barka, leading a three-member panel of justices of the Court of Appeal, held that Abure’s appeal had merit and was accordingly allowed.
The ICIR reported that Abure has been involved in a leadership tussle with Lamidi Apapa’s party faction since the 2023 presidential elections were concluded.
Abure was arrested in Benin City, the Edo State capital, on Wednesday, February 21. This followed a petition, including allegations of threats to life and attempted murder, among other infractions, by the LP Youth Leader, Eragbe Anselm Aphimia.
A reporter with the ICIR
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