The Deputy National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, has said that Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) protest at Labour Party meeting requires legal consequences.
He said this while speaking in a joint interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday night about the protest that happened on Tuesday evening at the Labour Party headquarters, Abuja.
The protest, which was tagged the ‘Abure must go’ protest, was to forcibly end the chairmanship of Julius Abure.
Olorunfemi asserted that the actions of the NLC were unlawful, saying, “That’s a criminal action that took place on Tuesday, and we must learn to abide by the law. The Labour Party has a law, and Article 7 of that law says that the constitution shall be supreme.
“If the Nigeria Labour Congress continues like this, it means they don’t obey rules. What NLC did on Tuesday should require jailing for those involved. They trespassed,” he added.
Speaking alongside the Chairman of the NLC transition committee, Abdulwaheed Umar, who clarified that the protest, led by him, originated from the transition committee with NLC as a stakeholder, indicating that the NLC was part of the protest but not the entire organiser.
Olorunfemi challenged the legitimacy of the transition committee, which is led by Umar, saying, “Abulwaheed Umar should tell Nigerians who constituted the National transition committee he is talking about. Is it in the constitution? They are organs in the constitution. NLC does not have a role,” he questioned.
The backdrop of this conflict involves the convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, where Julius Abure was officially re-elected as the chairman of the Labour Party.
Refuting Abdulwaheed Umar’s claims that many designated participants like the National Executive Committee (NEC) members were not present in that convention, Olorunfemi countered, “90% of those who were supposed to be there were there. The convention definitely wasn’t going to include ex-members or ex-stakeholders.”
Addressing the growing public impression of untidiness and untrustworthiness within the party, Olorunfemi pointed out, “The Labour Party has a constitution, that can be trusted. APC has their own, as well as PDP.”
On the issue of Peter Obi’s leadership and opposition from Apapa and Arabambi, he dismissed the concerns. “Whoever is saying that is an enemy of Nigeria. Anybody who is amplifying it can not be less of an enemy. It is a figment of their imagination. As far as we are concerned, Apapa and Arabambi have said all they could against Abure, and it is on the strength of their allegations that NLC has been raising dust, but we appreciate the fact that they have now seen light,” he said.
Olorunfemi concluded by stressing the importance of unity within the party and the ongoing reconciliation efforts. “ Some of the members of labour party were suspended, and others expelled, but we’re talking about reconciling them back to work,” he affirmed.
Nancy Mbamalu
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