• Caretaker to conduct election  in party offices within 90 days

The crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) escalated yesterday, despite a strident attempt to resolve it.

National Chairman, Julius Abure, rejected the 29-member interim committee headed by Senator Esther Nnenadi Usman, former Minister of State for Finance, describing it as illegal.

The committee was set up during the extended stakeholders’ meeting of the party convened by the Abia State Governor Alex Otti and the national leader of the party, Mr. Peter Obi.

Otti is the only governor elected on the platform of the party.

Nnenadi, who accepted to lead the party, promised to embark on a rescue mission.

However, the National Working Committee(NWC), led by Abure, a lawyer, described the committee as  unconstitutional.

Although Abure was contacted about the meeting by the convener, he did not show up.

The caretaker committee is made up of three representatives from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), three representatives of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), three Senators, four House of Representatives members, three House of Assembly members, representatives from six geo-political zones, and four former governorship candidates.

The committee’s term of reference is the conduct of party congresses and the national convention within 90 days.

Otti, who hosted the meeting at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia, said there was an urgent need to save the party from an impending danger that may lead to its extinction.

The governor, who clarified that he was not interested in whoever becomes the national chairman, said if the party was not rescued, it may jeopardize its participation  in future elections.

Otti said while the Abure-led leadership has the right to challenge the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the court, it is better for LP to avoid  any action that may render its actions illegal in the future.

Obi, who described LP as the third largest party in the country, called for unity and support for the caretaker committee.

The NLC National Vice President, Salamatu Aliu, who witnessed the meeting, said the rule of law should be followed in setting up a transition committee.

He said the leadership should be put to rest, adding that previous mistakes should also be avoided.

In a communiqué read  by the 2023 deputy governorship candidate of the party in Plateau State, Edward Pwajok, the stakeholders called on party members in court to withdraw the cases.

They also affirmed their confidence in Obi as the national leader while hailing the setting up of the caretaker committee to fill the leadership vacuum in the party.

The stakeholders commended Otti for his effort to deliver the democratic dividend to the people of Abia State.

Nnenadi Usman, who promised to unite the party, assured that her committee will deliver on the assignment within 90 days.

She said LP should go into future elections as a united front, adding that the party can produce the next president in 2027.

A chieftain, Senator Victor Umeh, said those calling for the resignation of Obi as the national leader are on a white goose chase.

At the meeting were Kelvin Chukwu, Okey Ezea, Victor Lar, Nneji Achonu, Yusuf Datti, Ikechukwu Emetu, Obi Aguocha, Senator Neda Imasuen, Barr. Sunday Umeha, Deputy Speaker, Abia House of Assembly, Austin Okezie Meregini, some LP-NWC members, NEC members; NLC, TUC and other statutory members, former governorship candidates from the six geopolitical zones and Prof. Kenneth Kalu, Secretary to Abia State Government.

Abure rejects caretaker committee

The Julius Abure-led NWC rejected the caretaker committee,  describing it as illegal and unconstitutional.

He said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, that he remained the  legitimate national chairman.

It described the meeting in Umuahia as a “charade, a waste of time and resources of Abia People.”

The statement reads: “As clearly stated in our previous statement, the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, and all others who have converged on Umuahia have no power within the Party Constitution, the Electoral Act and even within the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to convene any meeting of the Party.

“The combined reading of the two provisions show clearly that the so called meeting in Umuahia is a charade, a waste of time and resources of Abia People.

“The premise on which Governor Alex Otti called the meeting is not only faulty but mischievous. Government business is not transacted verbally but through official communication and correspondences which are done in writing.

“As we speak, there is no communication whatsoever from INEC to the Party as regards any objection to the conduct of the National Convention.

“We challenge Alex Otti to produce the official letter addressed to him from INEC on the subject matter. There is no vacuum in the leadership of the Party.

“Consequently, the so-called caretaker committee set up by the Governor of Abia State is not known to the constitution of the Party and can best be described as a department in Abia State Government House.

“We are shocked to note that the so-called chairman of the caretaker committee is not a registered member of the Party. She surfaced during the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign to assist Peter Obi in his campaign.”