Abba hamisu sani<\/b><\/p>\n
Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span><\/a>Labour Party is described as the third force in Nigerian Politics which hither too was dominated by two major political parties. All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic party – PDP.<\/p>\n This Parry played an unexpected role during the 2023 election as the party scored more than six million votes at the Presidential poll.<\/p>\n Peter Obi who was the Presidential Candidate of the party was the former governor of Anambra state and vice Presidential running mate of Atiku Abubakar during the 2019 Presidential election.<\/p>\n Labour Party struggles with internal Crises<\/b><\/p>\n Without structure, is it possible for a presidential candidate and his party to win elections in Nigeria? That poser seems to be the subtext of the ongoing leadership dispute within the Labour Party (LP).<\/p>\n A fragment of the members had gone to court to obtain an order restraining Julius Abure from parading himself as the party\u2019s national chairman. But, the owners of the political platform, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has come out to declare that despite the shenanigans of some disgruntled former members, Abure remains in office as national chairman.<\/p>\n Watchers of the Nigerian polity noted that the strong showing of the party as a vibrant third force must have become its albatross. Although its was dismissed as an unserious political party powered by overzealous young people, most of whom do not have voter cards, LP gave the established political parties, especially the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a run for their money.<\/p>\n From its competitive showing and popularity among the young and new voters, it was, therefore, not expected that some interest groups would start laying claims to exact some relevance and reap from the party\u2019s anticipated bright future.<\/p>\n It would be recalled that LP\u2019s profile rose shortly after former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, became its presidential candidate. Obi had dumped his former party, PDP, on which platform he had contested the 2019 presidential election as running mate to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.<\/p>\n With Obi\u2019s entry and barely eight months to this year\u2019s general elections, LP\u2019s fortune changed, even as its soft spoken standard bearer rallied the country towards a counter political narrative that emphasized character, competence, capacity and compassion in leadership selection.<\/p>\n Obi’s Strategy that changed LP’s Status<\/b><\/p>\n Obi\u2019s promise of switching Nigeria from a consumption nation to a productive economy captured national attention. The message resonated with the people to the extent that some drew a contrast between him and the African-American former U.S. President Barack Obama, whose \u2018Yes we can\u201d change slogan handed the Democratic Party the presidency from the incumbent Republican Party.<\/p>\n Obi also energized the youths with his demand on them to take back their country from established corrupt politicians that had held the country hostage for decades. He cited his personal examples from days as Anambra State chief executive, stressing that bad and corrupt leadership was responsible for mass poverty, insecurity, growing population of out of school children and comatose economy.<\/p>\n Although the general impression among analysts is that Obi\u2019s entry into LP changed the stature of the party as well as the political narratives of the country, the party was already a player in Nigeria\u2019s politics.<\/p>\n However, apart from the 2009 upset it caused in Ondo State, when the party threw up Dr. Olusegun Mimiko as governor, 2023 elections had been phenomenal for the workers\u2019 party.<\/p>\n Enhanced with the demographic appeal to youths under the aegis of \u2018Obedience movement\u2019, the party placed third at the presidential poll, replicating its effort with a governor elect in Abia State, seven Senators-elect and 34 members-elect for the House of Representatives in the recent general elections.<\/p>\n Recall that opinion surveys conducted by many polling platforms before the election had predicted the possibility of the party\u2019s presidential contender, Obi, coming out tops as winner.<\/p>\n However, while the polls were dismissed as mere projections by the other parties, LP proved book makers right by its unexpected electoral triumph in Lagos State, the favorite base of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).<\/p>\n The party also won in Nasarawa, the home state of APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; won in the FCT, as well as Plateau and a couple of other states.<\/p>\n While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced APC\u2019s standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as winner after collation of results, Obi and LP, who were placed third behind Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, picked holes with the electoral processes leading to the return of a winner.<\/p>\n Already, both Obi and Atiku and their parties LP and PDP- have petitioned the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) to register their disapproval of the entire process and outcome, even as they individually laid claims to victory.<\/p>\n The Labour Party Internal upheaval<\/b><\/p>\n Ever since the LP posted its competitive showing in the 2023 general elections, the party has been struggling to maintain its cohesion, especially following internal wrangling that bordered on leadership tussle, allegations and counter-allegations of corruption among some of its top officials.<\/p>\n Not those alone, the party\u2019s presidential contender, have also been inundated with various issues. First was the purported treasonable comments by his running mate, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, as well as the petition against Obi, threats of arrest and a leaked audio conversation believed to be between Obi and the founding Pastor of Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo.<\/p>\n Different Court Verdicts<\/b><\/p>\n While the party was contending with the storms, the wind of disunity began to blow around the LP leadership. The decision of an Abuja High Court to issue an order restraining the National Chairman, Julius Abure, National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim, National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu and one other, from parading themselves as national officers of the party came like thunder from the blues.<\/p>\n Ruling on an ex parte application argued by Chief James Onoja SAN, Justice Hamza Muazu, said the affected officers should cease to function in their respective offices pending the hearing and determination of the substantive motion.<\/p>\n However, in a swift move, a counter court order from an Edo State High Court sitting in Benin, last Wednesday restrained Labour Party and all its members from any suspension or purported suspension of its national officers till the determination of motion on notice.<\/p>\n Labour Party\u2019s counsel, G. C. Igbokwe (SAN), confirmed to newsmen that he had gotten a High Court order to the effect that status quo be maintained, stipulating that no action, which may result in the suspension of any national officer of the party, should be taken.<\/p>\n \u201cOur attention has been drawn to a latter order purportedly from another court of equal jurisdiction restraining my clients. Of course, such an order is of no consequence and will have no effect until after the determination of the motion on notice.\u201dThe Lawyer said.<\/p>\n A group that claimed to be Ward Three LP executives in Edo State, led by the Ward Chairman, Martins Osigbemhe, had earlier announced the suspension of the LP national chairman.<\/p>\n As such, in a bid to counter that move, the entire leadership of Labour Party in Edo State, including the state, Local Government and Ward executives were on hand to pass a vote of confidence on Abure<\/p>\n The group in a solidarity visit to Abure at the party\u2019s National Secretariat in Abuja, said the Osigbemhe faction is unknown to the party and that they were working for some unnamed opposition political parties. Mr. Kelly Ogbaloi, Edo State Chairman of the party, told newsmen in Abuja that the constitution of the Labour Party does not empower any group or party members to suspend a national officer.<\/p>\n Ogbaloi recalled that ever since Abure was elected at the party\u2019s national convention, those he called impostors, \u201cwho are not registered party members cannot suspend him. So, their action is out of ignorance. Those who did it don\u2019t even understand the message they were asked to deliver.\u201d The legal adviser added.<\/p>\n As if the irritations were not enough, some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) who were on suspension, led by one Apapa, the Publicity Secretary, Aboyomi Arambabi, and former Youth Leader, allegedly broke into the LP national secretariat in a bid to forcefully take ownership and in apparent scheme to enforce the court order.<\/p>\n Exit of peace<\/b><\/p>\n With the wrangling from Edo and Abuja, peace has left the Labour Party. Watchers of the polity relate the various crises to LP Presidential candidate\u2019s insistence on pursuing his case to reclaim what he termed, his stolen mandate.<\/p>\n Obi and LP claim that they not only won the election outright, but also that they have overwhelming evidence to uphold the victory of APC and Tinubu, who were declared winners by INEC.<\/p>\n It is against this background that the governing APC is being fingered as the mastermind of the rumblings in the workers\u2019 party.<\/p>\n Those who hold onto that conspiracy theory allege that the antagonists of Abure\u2019s leadership are the same party faithful in the Southwest that worked against LP in the election by collapsing their structure for APC in the zone.<\/p>\n Recall that Southwest LP had collapsed its entire structure into the APC days to the general elections.<\/p>\n National chairman of South West Agenda For Asiwaju Tinubu (SWAGA) 2023, Dayo Adeyeye and other members of the group facilitated the switch.<\/p>\n Consequently, it was believed that the same group represented by Lamidi Apapa and Arambabi procured the court injunction that barred the national chairman and other national officers of LP from parading themselves as such.<\/p>\n The group schemes that in the event that the Abure leadership is successfully eased out, the new leadership would later withdraw the petition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and declare support for the President elect, Tinubu to help boost his legitimacy. The attempted take over of the LP secretariat last Thursday by the faction was aimed at achieving that target.<\/p>\n However, the party\u2019s state chairmen, who are also members of the National Executive Council (NEC), stormed the party\u2019s secretariat on a rescue mission on Good Friday. Determined to leave nothing to chance, the 28 state chairmen took over the LP national secretariat in Utako, Abuja. They were emphatic that Abure remains their national chairman.<\/p>\n The previous day, Abure had, in a statement, claimed that the National Headquarters of Labour Party was under attack, as a detachment of Nigeria Police Force and thugs believed to be working for the governing party invaded the building. He disclosed that the perimeter fences, burglaries, doors and windows to the secretariat were vandalized, adding that workers and stalwarts were chased away.<\/p>\n Ironically, seven members of the National Working Committee had announced the National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, as Abure\u2019s replacement in acting capacity. In his remarks after an emergency meeting in Abuja, Apapa said the NWC members acted on the ruling of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, which restrained Abure from parading himself as national chairman.<\/p>\n While he addressed the press, armed security personnel were conspicuous at strategic locations, possibly, to avert a breakdown of law and order.<\/p>\n Apapa explained that the NWC also reviewed suspension of party members and executives. The other three restrained officials were also replaced by Saleh Lawal as acting national secretary, Rowland Daramola (acting treasurer) and Prince Reuben Favour (acting organizing secretary).<\/p>\n But, on their part, the 28 LP state chairmen led by their spokesperson, High Chief Kehinde Rotimi, after forcefully reclaiming the secretariat, told journalists that, \u201cWe were amazed at the report that hoodlums and thugs invaded our party secretariat at Utako, that is why we came.<\/p>\n \u201cThey destroyed properties, carted away our documents, committed all sorts of atrocities that are not in tandem with the rule of law<\/p>\n \u201cWe were told that they went to court and took a particular order but they did not wait for the court to determine whatever motion of notice, they took laws into their hands to come and destroy our Secretariat<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why we, as very important organ of NEC, the council of chairmen in the party, which constitutes NEC along with the members of our party, have decided to come here to do an on-the-spot assessment and on getting here, we discovered that these sets of hoodlums, some of them have been suspended and are no more members of our party.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of them sold our party to other political parties. The party is still investigating to see that they have violated our rights as a political party and they have gone all around to intimidate us with security agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are saying that we can not be intimidated, we can not be cowed. The Labour Party has come to stay in Nigeria, we want to advise all political parties to allow us, leave us alone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to tell all the security agencies not to turn to political party members, because the police are not party members so they should do what is right according to the rule of law.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can not be a judge in your own case. They want to be judges in their own case by taking the law into their own hands. That is why we are here, our entire members from all over the country; to counter this obnoxious and evil move to derail us from pursuing the mandate that Nigerians have given to us.<\/p>\n \u201cNigerians gave us their mandate on the 25th of February 2023 and on that mandate we stand. That is why we believe in the rule of law and that is why we have gone to the tribunal.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of creating diversion and division in our party we will not agree. That is why we are telling the whole world we have began the legal process on this evil and barbaric act.\u201d The spokesperson stated.<\/p>\n Enugu State chairman, Cashmir Uchenna Agbo, described what was happening as very unfortunate, because the Labour Party is a party of rule of law.<\/p>\n \u201cOur principal has maintained that we must be guided by the Constitutional provisions and the laws of this land and the party. It is very unfortunate that those who have ran this party for many years are engaging in acts of brigandage and criminality in terms of enforcing their own right.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n Agbo accused the Apapa group of mixing criminality with civil process, contending that the court that gave them that order erred in law, saying, there are a plethora of such cases that once you have element of criminality in any motion, you just put the other party in notice, so that he could be heard.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot shave a man\u2019s head in his absence. You have done this to this party; we are referring to a party in particular in this country that is known for criminality and brigandage. And that is APC.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s youth Leader, Prince Kennedy C. Ahanotu, disclosed that the rumbling in the party was not unexpected, especially because the party and its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have gone to court with overwhelming evidence and that the ruling party is jittery looking for any foothold to discredit the process.<\/p>\n Ahanotu spoke at the party secretariat when the 36 State chairmen of the party delivered a communique reaffirming their support for Julius Abure as their national chairman.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Abayomi Arabambi, money is the game and he was determined to sell his soul to achieve that dangerous appetite to enrich himself by whatever means.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only means is to initiate and sustain the crisis in the party by turning himself into a hireling and making himself available at a price to be purchased by desperate politicians,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He stressed that the LP\u2019s youth wing is in solidarity with the 36 State chairmen for coming to the rescue of the party at a very trying time, assuring that \u201con behalf of the labor party youths we will overcome this. We would not allow our collective sensibilities and our collective future to be destroyed by people who we have evidence on how they perpetrated evil and worked against the party even in the last election.\u201d The youth leader said.<\/p>\n According to the Guardian NewsPaper The National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arambabi, did not respond to text messages sent to him seeking to get their own side by the time of filing this report, even though he kept on promising to respond. But, a member of his faction who did not want his name in print said Abure remained suspended, stressing that there are a number of criminal allegations against the former national chairman including forgeries.<\/p>\n For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Abba hamisu sani Africa-Press – Nigeria. Labour Party is described as the third force in Nigerian Politics which hither too was dominated by two major political parties. All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic party – PDP. This Parry played an unexpected role during the 2023 election as the party scored more than six million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":88508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1437,28,16,2660],"tags":[1570,2140,34,3634,9865,254,65],"class_list":["post-88509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","category-parties","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-nigeria-2","tag-apc","tag-labour-party","tag-labour-party-in-nigeria","tag-nigeria","tag-pdp"],"yoast_head":"\n