At least 36 state chairmen of the Labour Party have reclaimed the party secretariat in Abuja after it was reportedly taken over by thugs.
In a recently released video, the chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, said the party secretariat had been taken over by thugs.
The LP National Secretariat is located in the Utako district, of the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Abure, the thugs were armed, and they reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors, and windows of the secretariat.
However, the 36 state chairmen of the party have gone to reclaim the party’s secretariat.
Also, the state chairmen have insisted that Julius Abure remains the recognised National Chairman of the party.
This is as a faction of the party obtained a court order dismissing Abure.
Julius Abure Dismissed
The court order dismissing Abure as Chairman was reportedly obtained by the National Working Committee of the party.
However, the Chairman of the LP in Edo State, Mr Ogbaloi Kelly, says the NWC is a subordinate organ to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
“Therefore, when a faction of it comes to take laws into its hands, it becomes a total nullity,” Kelly says.
Those who are taking this action are suspended members of the party, he further reveals.
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Also, Kelly says “as at the time they took this action, their suspension had not been lifted.
“Therefore, we are saying here that the 36 state chairmen have come to retake their possession.
“These miscreants who took over the office do not have the authority to control this matter.
“But we here have the authority and law to be in charge of the party and we affirm Abure.”
Furthermore, Kelly says that even the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) affirms Abure as the party’s chairman in their communique.
“We have come here to tell the world that the action of this faction is a total nullity and should be disregarded,” he declares.
The Chairman of the Enugu state chapter of the party, Mr Cashmir Agbo, also supports Mr Kelly’s statement.
Endangered Law
He says there is a need for party members to be guided by the rules and laws of the land and the party.
“The position of the party and the mechanism in the resolution of crises are very clear.
“In the constitution, you have to exhaust that mechanism in court.
“You go to court and obtain a court order and you want to enforce that order by yourself.
“What I am saying in effect is that they mixed criminality with civil process and the court that gave them that order endangered law,” Mr Agbo says.
Challenging Election Result
Also, Mr Agbo blames the crisis on those that do not want LP to challenge the result of the presidential election in court.
“We are challenging the outcome of INEC’s result, they should allow the court process to finish,” he says.
According to him, they plan to distract and force the Labour Party nationwide to withdraw the case in court.
Also, Agbo reaffirmed that Abure remained the authentic Chairman of the Labour Party in Nigeria.
According to him, only the National Executive Committee could remove him.
