Tag: Labour Party

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party has ratified the party’s Nnewi, Anambra State convention, paving the way for ward, local government, and state congresses across the country.

Friday’s NEC meeting, held at the party’s Abuja secretariat, was presided over by National Chairman Julius Abure. 

It was attended by members of the National and State Working Committees from all 36 states and the FCT, as well as key stakeholders, including the party’s 2023 Vice-Presidential candidate, Dr. Yusuf Baba Datti-Ahmed, and a delegation from the Independent National Electoral Commission led by Rakiya Dattijo of its Election and Party Monitoring Department.

The meeting reviewed the state of the party and deliberated on its strategic direction.

In a communiqué signed by Abure and National Secretary Umar Ibrahim, NEC affirmed the validity of the 2024 Nnewi National Convention, stating it aligned with the Supreme Court’s decision empowering the party to determine its leadership as part of its internal affairs.

The communique read in part, “The NEC in session notes and recalls vividly the following Supreme Court pronouncements:

“The reason for the non-justiciability of internal disputes of a political party is simple, and that is that in the eyes of the law, a political party is a corporate entity with its constitution, rules, regulations, and guidelines which are binding on members who have joined freely have consented to be so bound (See Abegunde Vs. Ondo State House of Assembly & Ors. (2025) LPELR-24588 (SC).)

“Political Parties have put in place diverse kinds of internal dispute resolution mechanisms to handle any matter arising from disputes among members. 

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“Political parties and their members should therefore have faith in the internal dispute resolution mechanisms prescribed in their party constitution. 

“Having subscribed to the membership of a Political party, a member of a Political party has by his membership agreed to be bound by the constitution and the decision of the party contained in its guidelines.

“So the Politician must comply with the provisions of the party constitution on how disputes over the internal affairs of the party can be resolved in keeping with the legal doctrine that the internal affairs of a Political party are non-justiceable and therefore not subject to the judicial powers of the courts..

“Consequent upon the above, NEC in session reaffirmed those elected as National officers of the Party at the National Convention held in 2024 in Anambra State on the 27th of March 2024.”

Those elected were the current 17 member National Working Committee which has Alhaji Ibrahim Umar Farouk as National Secretary, Chief Clement Ojukwu, Dr. Ayo Olorunfemi and Dr Esther Gulmu (Deputy National Chairmen) and Obiora Ifoh as National Publicity Secretary among others. 

The party’s NEC also mandated the National Chairman and Secretary to convene a Special Convention “if necessary.”

The party also filled vacant positions in the NEC including the appointment of Oluwafemi Abayomi Arabambi as the National Vice Chairman South West, 

Prince Favour Reuben as the Assistant National Organising Secretary and Barr. Enu Kikanwa as Assistant National Woman Leader South South.

The communique added, “NEC in session ratified the decision to hold Ward, Local Government, and State Congresses across the Federation.” 

The lawmaker representing Umuahia North State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Barr. Anderson Kelechi Akaliro, has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Labour Party (LP).

Speaking in Umuahia, the state capital, Akaliro said his decision was personal and driven by his conviction that Governor Alex Otti has, in the past two years, demonstrated leadership and commitment in delivering democratic dividends to the people of Abia State.

According to him, the governor’s leadership style has made it difficult for him to play the role of an opposition lawmaker, hence his decision to join forces with the administration to further support governance in the state.

“Today, I have seen the light,” Akaliro said. “I have watched His Excellency, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, closely to understand where he is coming from and where he is headed. Based on what he has done so far for the good of our state, I have decided to join him in the Labour Party (LP).”

He pledged to work with the governor in ensuring that more democratic dividends reach the residents and citizens of Abia State.

“Abia is number one in virtually everything, cutting across the nooks and crannies of the state. I am proud to say that, truly, I am an Abian.

“Judging from his (Otti’s) antecedents and what he has done, I thought that he was a banker, but I never knew that he was a seasoned administrator; he came prepared for the job, and today, I am really happy, and my constituents are excited that I have decided to join the moving train. I know that he is taking us to the proper destination, and Abia has always rejoiced. Abia will be happy with him and will continue to be happy with him.

“The governor has done well in the education sector. He has also done well in infrastructure, roads, houses, smart schools, name it, cutting across the length and breadth of Abia State; even the blind can see that this man came prepared for the work, and he is doing it seamlessly.

“As a former opposition member, Dr. Alex Otti made my job very difficult, because I have nothing to criticize him with. Even when the thought comes up for me to criticize him, the next moment, he (Otti) is doing it, so, makes it difficult for me to criticize him. I have no other choice but to join him because I know that he is the right man for this job, and I want to say that no other person can do it better than him.”

The Nenadi Usman faction of the Labour Party (LP) has accused the national chairman of LP, Julius Abure of alleged forgery of a Nasarawa State High Court order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload the list of its candidates for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council elections.

A statement by Senior Special Adviser, Media, to the Senator Nenadi Usman led Labour Party, Ken Asogwa, said, “The timing of this so-called court order’s release to the public is as suspicious as it is mischievous, coming on the eve of nationwide bye-elections.”

The statement is coming less than 12 hours after the Julius Abure led group presented a court order asking INEC to upload the names of their candidates for the affected council poll.

According to the statement, the court order presented by Abure refers to elections slated for February next year.

The statement said, “Given Abure’s notorious record in matters of forgery, this development, if true, would come as no surprise.

“The leadership of the Labour Party is appalled by reports circulating in certain sections of the media alleging that a Nasarawa State High Court granted an interlocutory order – purportedly at the instance of Barrister Julius Abure and his faction – directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload their candidates’ names for the forthcoming FCT Council elections.

“The timing of this so-called court order’s release to the public is as suspicious as it is mischievous, coming on the eve of nationwide bye-elections.

“Even more telling is the fact that the purported order – laughable as it is – specifically refers to elections slated for February next year.

“Given Abure’s notorious record in matters of forgery, this development, if true, would come as no surprise.

“Nigerians will recall his criminal manipulation during the 2023 Ebonyi State governorship election, an act for which the Attorney-General of the Federation has implicitly directed his prosecution by the police – a charge that still hangs over him like the proverbial sword of Damocles.

“Even if, in the unlikely event, this inconsequential order was genuinely obtained, Abure’s decision to engage in blatant forum shopping – running to a Nasarawa State High Court in a matter over which the Federal High Court has exclusive constitutional jurisdiction – underscores the depth of his legal and moral bankruptcy.

“Since INEC is a federal institution established by the Constitution, the High Court of Nasarawa State has no lawful standing in this matter. Such abuse of judicial process ought to attract a stern reprimand from the court against the forum shoppers.

“Meanwhile, Nigerians are not oblivious to the fact that the Supreme Court – the highest court in the land – on 4th April 2025, unequivocally removed Barrister Julius Abure from office in a landmark judgment.

“Yet, Abure and his accomplices have been shamelessly sustained and emboldened by the APC-led Federal Government, enabling them to persist in contempt of court and reckless abuse of judicial processes.

“Their unholy alliance serves one purpose alone: to undermine the Labour Party and erode our democratic institutions. In their desperation for transient political advantage, they are even willing to diminish the authority of the Supreme Court itself.”

• ‘Security agencies harassing our leaders’

The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Labour Party (LP) has denied allegations that it plans to organize a one-million-man march against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and topple it.

The LP faction alleged that security agencies were harassing its leaders,  based on what it called “a malicious petition” purportedly written by Abayomi Arabambi, said to have impersonated LP’s spokesperson.

This was contained in a statement by Mrs. Usman’s Senior Special Adviser (Media), Ken Asogwa, yesterday in Abuja.

The faction claimed that Arabambi alleged in his petition that key LP leaders were plotting to overthrow the Tinubu administration.

The statement said: “In the said petition, Arabambi accused prominent leaders of the Labour Party, including Mr. Peter Obi, Comrade Joe Ajaero, Senator Victor Umeh, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, and Dr. Yunusa Tanko, of plotting a violent overthrow of the Bola Tinubu administration under the guise of organising a ‘One Million Man March’.

“He further alleged that the said protest, scheduled for today, July 30, 2025, is aimed at reclaiming the former national secretariat of the party currently occupied by the erstwhile chairman, Julius Abure, at Utako, Abuja.

“Let it be stated unequivocally: the leadership of the Labour Party is not aware of any planned protest anywhere in Nigeria under the auspices of the party.

“We have neither authorised nor sanctioned any individual or group to march on the streets in the name of reclaiming a property the party has long abandoned.

“As a law-abiding political party, following the Supreme Court’s ruling of April 4, 2025, which affirmed Senator Nenadi Usman’s leadership, we have formally notified relevant law enforcement agencies, urging them to enforce the judgment by vacating the illegal occupants of the former secretariat.

“Regrettably, the inertia of these agencies forced the party to relocate to a new and more secure location. Since then, the party has moved on, fully focused on its core mission.

“It is, therefore, laughable and deeply suspicious for anyone to insinuate that the Labour Party intends to forcibly reclaim a building it no longer uses.

“What is, however, more alarming is the fictitious and irresponsible allegation of a planned coup d’état against the Tinubu administration – a claim suspiciously lumped with this so-called One Million Man March.

“How an alleged protest to reclaim a party office translates to a violent toppling of a sitting government beats the imagination of any right-thinking Nigerian.

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“This is not merely a reckless lie – it is a dangerous and desperate attempt to frame up respected leaders of the Labour Party in a phony plot to destabilise the nation.

“It is a throwback to a dark era when individuals were roped into phantom coup plots simply for opposing the government of the day.

“We are already aware that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have begun harassing key party officials on the strength of this concocted tale. We warn that this path is a slippery slope that endangers our democracy.

“The Labour Party, therefore, calls on all security agencies to thoroughly investigate this malicious petition and unmask the true faces behind this sinister agenda to heat up the polity through deceit, misinformation, and fear.

“We remain committed to the rule of law and democratic principles, and we urge the Nigerian people to see through this poorly scripted political drama for what it truly is – an act of cowardice and desperation.”