By John Alechenu, Abuja
Supporters of the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Comrade Julious Abure, have taken to the streets in Gudu, Abuja, today to protest what they described as the meddlesome of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), in the affairs of the party.
Dozens of protesters carrying placards with inscriptions such as “On Abure’s mandate we stand”, “NLC leave Abure alone,” and “Nnawi’ National Convention is valid”, began their march from the new Abuja chapter secretariat.
There has been a recent conflict between the Nigerian Labour Congress and the 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 these two organizations has captured public attention and raised questions about the legality of NLC to check LP and the underlying causes and implications of their dispute.
The war of attrition between the Julius Abure- led National Working Committee of the Labour Party and the Comrade Joe Ajaero -led Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), is threatening the future of the Labour Party as an entity investigation by Vanguard has shown.
It was gathered that 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 denied.
Trouble started for Abure 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 a plan by Abure to conduct a national convention without the impute of stakeholders.
Comrade Joe Ajaero and the leadership of the NLC have passed a vote of no confidence on Abure who they accused of running the party like a sole administrator.
Source: Vanguard
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