The crisis rocking the Labour Party deepened on Tuesday when the LP leadership warned Governor Alex Otti of Abia State to focus on governance and cease interfering in the administration of the party.
The National Chairman of the LP, Julius Abure, issued the warning at a press conference held in Abuja.
Abure lamented that it was bad enough for the party to endure criticism and persecution from those seeking to tear it apart, without having to contend with its chieftains, members, and stakeholders following the same path.
The LP national chairman’s anger stemmed from a recent meeting with Otti, where the Abia governor stated his intention to convene a National Executive Committee meeting on August 31 to ‘dissolve the National Executive Council, State Executive Council, Local Government Executive Council, and Ward Executive Council’ on the purported grounds that their tenures had expired.
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But Abure rejected this, stating that it was not within the governor’s purview to make such decisions.
Consequently, he announced to journalists on Tuesday that the National Working Committee of the party has established a disciplinary committee to henceforth sanction any erring members or bigwigs who make decisions that could undermine the party.
He said, “The National Working Committee also notes that assuming without conceding that the tenure of the current NWC has even expired, we must state clearly that it is not the responsibility of Dr. Alex Otti, as the governor of Abia State, to convene an NEC meeting to set up a caretaker committee. It is still the responsibility of the national chairman and the national secretary of the party to convene such a meeting.
“Secondly, it is the responsibility of INEC to officially communicate to the party in writing if it has objections to the conduct of the convention and indeed to inform the leadership that its tenure has expired. We want to appeal to our colleagues to concentrate on governance and allow us to handle party affairs.
“Consequently, the national leadership states clearly that it will not hesitate to discipline any member who is not ready to obey the party constitution and the lawful directives of the leadership. The national leadership hereby states unequivocally that there is no vacuum in the leadership of our party.
“The Labour Party is different from other political parties in that it is not controlled by one man, woman, or leader; neither is it a party that can be dominated by one person. It is a party for the generality of the people. The party’s outlook made it possible for people like Dr. Alex Otti to use the platform and win in 2023 after attempting and failing in APC, PDP, and even APGA.”
Continuing, Abure said that Otti’s argument was allegedly based on the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the tenures of the current NWC and other grassroots leaders had expired.
However, the LP chair disclosed that until the recent omission of the party from INEC discussions with political parties, there had been no rift with the commission.
“Therefore, for any person(s), group, or agency to speculate that the tenures of the current executives have expired is not only mischievous but a deliberate attempt to destabilise the party. Apart from the fact that a Federal High Court in Abuja has already validated the National Convention held on March 27, other persons have challenged the convention of the party.
“It is therefore established in our laws that once cases are pending in our courts, parties are to maintain the status quo to prevent further harm to the party. INEC is expected not to descend into the arena of conflict but to continue with its neutrality and work cordially with the recognised leadership of the party until the courts state otherwise,” he said.
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