By Akinwale Kasali
“Abure’s problem is not only the NLC. A number of the Party’s stakeholders are not happy with him over the controversial National Convention he insisted on holding where he was returned as the National Chairman. They include Party Elders, BoT members, Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, House of Representatives caucus of the Party, and more”
Supporters of National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP, Julius Abure took to the streets in Gudu, Abuja, to protest against the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, following what they say is the “Labour Group meddling into the affairs of LP.”
Dozens of protesters carrying placards with inscriptions such as “On Abure’s mandate we stand”, “NLC leave Abure alone,” and “Nnewi National Convention is valid”, began their march from the new Abuja chapter secretariat.
Abure has been in conflict between the NLC and the Abure-led Labour Party leadership.
The situation had escalated to the point where the NLC accused Abure of running the affairs of the LP as a sole administrator. As a result, the NLC passed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the national chair of the party and consequently called for his resignation.
The friction between them captured public attention when the political wing of the NLC invaded the Abuja Headquarters of the Party and demanded for Abure’s resignation.
At the heart of the conflict is the battle for the control of the party structure.
Major stakeholders of the party have accused Abure of running the affairs of the party like a personal estate, a charge Abure consistently denies.
It would be recalled that the demand for Abure resignation stated soon after the 2023 general elections when some party members under the leadership of Alhaji Lamidi Apapa and Abayomi Arabambi accused him of mismanaging party’s funds.
A series of court cases followed and Abure’s leadership was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
However, not long afterwards, the party’s erstwhile National Treasurer, Ms. Oluchi Oparah, went public with allegations that Abure be made to account for over N3.5bn she claimed the party received from the sale of forms and donations for during the 2023 elections.
For her efforts, she was suspended for six months for bringing the reputation of the party to disrepute.
The Abure-led NWC of the LP is currently at loggerheads with not only the NLC but also the House of Representatives caucus of the party over the conduct of the national convention by Abure without the impute of stakeholders.
