The leadership tussle of the Labour Party escalated on Tuesday, June 25, as the Labour Party National Transition Committee (LPNTC) demanded the resignation of the party chairman, Julius Abure.
The labour leaders, who stormed the venue of the meeting of the National Working Committee of the party in Abuja convened by its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, insisted that the tenure of Abure and others would expire by the end of this month.
The chairman of the committee, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar said the committee would “either we find our way forward or we make our way forward.”
In an attempt to force their way into the premises, the police fired teargas to dispatch the labour leaders.
Omar, who was a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, said: “The issue at hand is that the tenure of Abure and the National Working Committee has expired by the end of this month. And there cannot be a vacuum in leadership.
“We have tried to do it peacefully. As much as possible, if we can resolve this issue without fighting, that will be good but from what we have witnessed today, it appears certainly that it is either we find our way forward or we make our way forward. This I assure you.
“We will not tolerate lawlessness but if anybody decides to be lawless because he has the power to pay and subvert our efforts I want to assure you that we are also capable of doing whatever anybody can do we can do more.”
Omar said the committee has been given the mandate by stakeholders to conduct a new and all-inclusive national convention.
Obi, who addressed the labour leaders outside the party secretariat, said he convened the meeting in order to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.
The former Anambra State governor tasked the leadership of the party to continue in its efforts towards reconciling all aggrieved party members and supporters.
He pledged to ensure that every discord within the party was addressed in no distant time.
“We have tried to do it peacefully. As much as possible, if we can resolve this issue without fighting, that will be good but from what we have witnessed today, it appears certainly that it is either we find our way forward or we make our way forward. This I assure you.
“We will not tolerate lawlessness but if anybody decides to be lawless because he has the power to pay and subvert our efforts I want to assure you that we are also capable of doing whatever anybody can do we can do more.”
Omar said the committee has been given the mandate by stakeholders to conduct a new and all-inclusive national convention.
Obi, who addressed the labour leaders outside the party secretariat, said he convened the meeting in order to reconcile aggrieved members of the party.
The former Anambra State governor tasked the leadership of the party to continue in its efforts towards reconciling all aggrieved party members and supporters.
He pledged to ensure that every discord within the party was addressed in no distant time.
The former governor of Anambra state said leaders of the party must sit at a table and decide the future of the party.
Obi said the reconciliation between the party and its estranged former leaders, led by former Deputy National Chairman (South), Lamidi Apapa was a welcome development, insisting that the reconciliation was for the greater good of the party.
He said: “Let me tell you one thing, their reconciliation is all about our party and I can assure you that everyone must reconcile with each other.”
“During our meeting before we learnt that our people were outside, I told them that my first assignment was reconciliation, my second assignment was reconciliation and my third assignment, reconciliation and I can tell you that what you witnessed earlier is a normal thing in our lives, I do the same thing. It is what I do every day even in our families. When we quarrel with our wives and children, we reconcile. Even today during the meeting, I made one instance which is that I have come to start the work of reconciling the family.
“So these people here are members of the family who we must reconcile with. We are going to sit down around a table and decide the future of our party. I am ready for a reconciliation meeting any day you choose.
“And I like what happened here today. This means we have just started the reconciliation process and what we achieved today was so much, as I told you sometimes it happens in my house and I allow it because that is the only way I know how mature my children have become.”
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh Abure expressed satisfaction with the leadership roles Obi has been playing in the party in making sure that the party returned to a formidable entity capable enough to engender the new Nigeria hoped for.
Abure said: “Labour Party is happy with your reconciliation project and we will give you all the support. We are not the aggressor here, we have always wanted peace because we can’t go into future elections with divided loyalty.
“We have said that we are focused on 2027 that is why we are the only party that has produced its candidate for the 2027 presidential election. We know where we are going and we have refused to be distracted. We will definitely get to our destination of giving Nigerians a better nation.”
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyer