The Labour Party (LP) has sacked the national chairman of the party, Comrade Julius Abure, and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
To fill the leadership vacuum, the party set up a 29-member caretaker committee, with former finance minister, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, as chairman and Hon. Darlington Nwokocha as secretary.
The decision was the outcome of the “duly constituted” NEC and expanded stakeholders’ meeting hosted in Umuahia by the governor of Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti, the party’s only governor.
The meeting, chaired by the presidential candidate of LP in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, was well-attended by prominent members of the party, including all LP federal and state lawmakers.
Abure and his allies were not at the meeting.
The stakeholders insisted that Abure’s tenure had expired in June, hence, he no longer had any legitimacy to continue in the capacity of national chairman.
A five-point communique read by the LP 2023 deputy governorship candidate in Plateau State, Hon. Edward Pwajok, said the membership of the committee reflected “various interests and tendencies” in the party.
The critical interests include Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Senate, House of Representatives, Houses of Assembly, and the governorship candidates of LP in 2023.
According to the communique, the caretaker committee “should immediately ensure” that the congresses of the whole party were conducted at ward, local government, state and national levels “as soon as possible”.
The caretaker committee would preside over the affairs of LP in the next three months within which new leaders would emerge from ward to national levels after the party congresses.
The stakeholders enjoined “all party members to support the caretaker committee to carry out its mandate”.
Obi commended Otti for his efforts to reposition the party by ensuring that the meeting held as planned.
He said, “We consulted and discussed” before agreeing on the need to convene the expanded stakeholders’ meeting in order to resolve the troubling issues affecting LP.
The former Anambra State governor told his party members that they already knew “my own position” in the crisis rocking the party.
Obi said because of the position he had taken, “I have been called all sorts of names. Some said I’m not serious; some said I’m weak and should not present myself again as presidential candidate.”
He stated that unsavoury utterances from people will not change his position.
Obi added, “But I want due process to be followed. Whatever we are going to do in future, I want everybody to be free to participate in it. In going forward, let everybody learn to sacrifice for the party.”
The LP national leader spoke in a conciliatory tone. He said the meeting was not meant to suspend or sack party members, hence, “nobody would be secluded after this meeting”.
Usman said the caretaker committee had been saddled with “a big responsibility”.
But she assured the party stakeholders and elders that the committee would work to put LP back to its proper footing.
The caretaker committee chairman stated that the crisis in LP had been repelling prospective members, saying, “people have not registered with LP because of the problem that bedevilled the party”.
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo
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