THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the re-election of Julius Abure as Labour Party (LP) national chairman and vowed not to accord him recognition in that capacity.
The NLC spokesperson disclosed this on Wednesday, March 27 2024, and described Abure’s re-election process as a charade.
“It’s an illegality, a nullity. The whole exercise was a charade! Nothing can legitimise such brazen impunity,” he said.
Abure re-emerged as chairman on Wednesday during the party’s national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra state, as delegates from across the country re-elected him through a unanimous affirmation.
While all members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were re-elected, slots for representatives of both the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) were left vacant.
The convention’s chairman, who is also deputy governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu, announced Abure as the winner at the convention.
This is despite the ongoing feud between the leaderships of the LP and NLC, which has taken several dimensions in recent times.
The NLC had called for Abure’s removal, accusing him of financial misconduct.
On Wednesday, March 20, NLC members gathered outside the LP headquarters in Abuja, chanting anti-party songs in protest of Abure’s leadership.
The NLC also accused him and the NWC of proposing a “secret” national convention in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, on March 27 that would allow him to continue leading the party as a “sole administrator.”
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.”
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday, March 6, affirmed Abure as the LP national chairman.
This ruling comes months after a judge 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.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.