Labour Party crisis deepens as Police take over national secretariat, chase away workers

 

Obiora Ifoh, Abuja

The crisis rocking the Labour Party deepened on Thursday as seven members of the National Working Committee of the Party, announced the National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, as the acting chairman of the party, replacing the suspended chairman, Julius Abure.

As of the time of this report, stern-looking police officers have taken over the secretariat of the party.

Speaking after an emergency meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja, Apapa said the NWC members acted on the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory High Court which restrained Abure from parading himself as the National Chairman of the LP.

 

It was gathered that apart from Abure, the court also restrained three other officials of the party over alleged forgery.

 

Justice Hamza Muazu also ordered that the originating processes of the court be served on the restrained officials – Abure, the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu.

 

The judge held that the ex parte application for an interim injunction restraining the four officials by aggrieved members of the LP before the court has merit and granted the same.

 

Apapa told journalists that the NWC also reviewed the suspension of party members and exco that had earlier been suspended by the party leadership.

 

The three other officials restrained were also replaced by Alhaji Saleh Lawal- acting National Secretary, Rowland Daramola- acting Treasurer, and Prince Reuben Favour – acting Organising Secretary.

 

“The NWC equally reviewed that recently there are some cases of suspensions that were badly handled. And this National Working Committee meeting has reviewed them, and the suspension all over are hereby reviewed and the officers are reinstated.

 

“With effect from now, the so-called officers who the court had barred should not parade themselves as officers of the party until cases against them are treated or handled by the party”, Apapa stated.

 

He also denied the allegation that the party has been invaded by the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying the current leadership believes extensively in the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi.

 

Earlier, Abure, however, had in a statement, raised an alarm accusing the APC of using thugs and a detachment of the Nigerian Police Force to invade the party’s headquarters in Abuja.

 

The embattled LP chairman stated that the invaders who are armed reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and windows to have access to the secretariat and in the process sacked workers and party members.

 

Abure said, “Though, I was out of town but information has it that the agenda of the Invaders was to inaugurate an illegitimate executive which has been chosen for them by their sponsors.

 

“This incident is coming days after a similar invasion in our Imo state Secretariat which up till now is still being occupied by the agents of the Imo state government.

 

“Only yesterday (Wednesday), our presidential candidate, Peter Obi through the LP Presidential Campaign Council alerted Nigerians of a plot to hound him out of the country over APC’s covert plot in collaboration with some security agents to frame him up allegedly on matters bothering on treason.

 

“Labour Party is only a political party which is contesting for power. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has conducted an election that ranked us third, a position we have rejected and have approached the Tribunal to contest. That is our only offence.

 

“We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party, the APC to order and also rein them in from using unorthodox means to suffocate political structures in Nigeria.”

 

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Thursday, passed a confidence vote on the embattled national chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, insisting that he remains the chairman of the party.

 

The NLC in a statement issued by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero said it viewed the alleged sacking of the leadership of the LP with great suspicion which cannot be far from the intent to weaken the party from within or distract it from its fight to reclaim its victories at the polls.

 

According to him,  the grounds for suspending the Abure and others either in the courtroom or outside it, are not there even as mischievous forces orchestrate evil, stressing that they remain executives of the party and also urged the court to review its decision forthwith.

 

The statement read: “We are alarmed by the decision of Justice Hamza Muazu of the High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja via exparte to suspend from office the National Chairman, the National Secretary, National Treasurer and the Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Messrs Julius Abure, Alhaji Farouk Ibrahim, Clement Ojukwu and Opara respectively on unfounded/unproven and highly speculative and malicious allegations of corruption, perjury and forgery by elements whose interest in the party could best be described as doubtful or dubious.

 

“The court order according to Justice Hamza Muazu is to subsist “pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice for interlocutory injuction”.

 

“The ruling was sequel to a motion exparte filed along the substantive suit by eight so-called aggrieved members of the party including the Chairman of the party in Abure’s ward.

“We view the decapitation of the leadership of the party with great suspicion which cannot be far from the intent to weaken the party from within or distract it from its fight to reclaim its victories at the polls.

“In light of this, we urge the courts to exercise utmost caution in entertaining frivolous suits and spurious prayers from mercenary party members as they are capable of compromising the integrity of the courts.

 

Meanwhile,The Labour Party in Lagos State has indefinitely suspended six of its chieftains, including the immediate past chairman, Mr Kayode Salako , over alleged anti-party and disparaging activities in the just-concluded elections.

 

The LP Secretary in the state, Mr Sam Okpala disclosed this at a news conference on Thursday  at the party’s secretariat in Ikeja,  Lagos.

 

Okpala listed the suspended leaders to include: Mr Moshood Salvador (LP Senatorial Candidate, Lagos West), Mr Mutiu Okunola (House of Ikeja Rep. Candidate), and Messrs Theodore Ezeunara, Mr Olumide Adesoyin and Opeyemi Taiwo.

 

He  said the suspension followed the party’s reception and ratification of the report of the Disciplinary Committee set up to investigate the acts of anti-party activities leveled against the leaders.

 

Explaining that the decision was taken at the  State Working Committee meeting heid on March 31, Okpala said  the affected leaders had been found culpable of acts inimical to the progress of  the LP.

 

He said: “Labour Party in Lagos state discovered that there were a lot of anti-party activities committed by people who claimed to be members of the party in Lagos state.

 

“Our post mortem of what really transpired and happened during the general elections revealed that a lot of people who called themselves members of the party were indeed working for the opposition.

 

“With that information, the LP in Lagos state set up a disciplinary committee headed by one of the deputy chairmen of the party to look into these allegations.

 

“As an obedient party that adheres to the rule of law, the committee gave everyone involved a fair hearing and opportunity to defend themselves and clear their names.

 

“At the end of the exercise, the report was tendered before the LP state working committee and at the meeting held on March 31, the report of the disciplinary committee was accepted and ratified for implementation.”

 

He said that out of the seven chieftains, involved, one Mr Sunbo Onitiri, said he had resigned his membership of the LP.

 

“In obedience to the relevant sections of our constitution, the party took the decision to suspend them from being members of the party with immediate effect.

 

“The essence is to serve as deterrent to others who may want to toe that inglorious path again,” he added.

 

Okpala said  the party could not accept having enemies within its fold.

 

The scribe decried that the affected officers openly demonstrated solidarity and preference to work with and for the candidates of  another party  during the polls.

 

According to him, the affected leaders have consistently been disparaging/ denigrating the image of the party candidates as well as the state leadership of the party without decorum.

 

He said  their actions had brought LP to disrepute, hence the suspension with immediate effect.

 

Okpala commended Lagos residents and Nigerians for believing in the LP’s vision and philosophy of bringing about a new Nigeria and for supporting the party in the Feb. 25 and March 18 general elections.

 

On the national leadership crisis of the party, Okpala said the Lagos state chapter would continue to stand with its LP National Chairman, Mr Julius Abure and other national  officers.

 

He said that Court ex parte order, restraining the  LP national chairman and five other national officers of the party from parading themselves as leaders of the party, were handiwork of detractors who wanted to stop  the party from the mission to reclaim its alleged stolen mandate.

 

“We want to pass a vote of confidence on our national chairman  and other leaders of the party. They have done so much for the party.

 

” The leaders have committed all they got to the success of the Labour Party,” he said.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended by the  LP state working committee members

“We similarly join the league of those who canvass against the casual use of exparte in light of the grieviouness of the injuries they quite often inflict.

 

“We also note that this extant court order does not only violate the principle of presumption of innocence, a cardinal pillar of our judicial system, it is an affront to justice itself.

 

“We find it curious that while ex-convicts continue to occupy ample space in the public service or space without let or hindrance, those yet to be found guilty are already being harangued or hounded and being debarred from holding office.

“Finally, the continued relevance of our courts cannot be divorced from the quality of their decisions or rulings. Accordingly, our courts are advised to refrain from taking decisions which portray them as having descended into the arena, or worse still, make them pocketable.

 

“On our part, the grounds for suspending the quartet, either in the courtroom or outside it, are not there even as mischievous forces orchestrate evil. The quartet, therefore, remain executives of the party. In light of the foregoing, we invite the honourable court to review its decision forthwith.

“On the next adjourned date we are going to be in court in our numbers to listen to the Judge.”