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8 months ago
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The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has sparked controversy with his proposed ‘secret’ National Convention, resulting in internal strife within the party.
This move has prompted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), a key stakeholder and supporter of former presidential candidate Peter Obi, to demand Abure’s removal, accusing him of operating the party as a “sole administrator.”
According to the NLC, Abure attempted to unilaterally extend his tenure in April 2023, but was halted by the NLC and Peter Obi, who insisted on adherence to due process.
“The planned convention was contained in a notice to the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 13,” highlighted reports.
In an open letter, the NLC Political Commission condemned the proposed convention as illegal, calling for Abure’s immediate resignation and the formation of a caretaker transition committee to organize a legitimate and inclusive national convention for the party.
“The sole administrator mentality of Mr. Abure has stood in the way of efforts by the NLC Political Commission to intervene and resolve the leadership crises in the Labour Party,” stated the letter, signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the NLC political commission.
Abure faces allegations of mismanagement and financial impropriety, with the National Treasurer of the party, Oluchi Opara, accusing him of diverting funds received from the sale of nomination forms and donations for the 2023 political campaigns.
“We are alarmed by claims by Ms. Oluchi Opara that the National Chairman diverted about N3.5 billion of funds received from the sale of nomination forms by the Labour Party and donations for the prosecution of the 2023 political campaigns. Mr. Julius Abure has dismissed these allegations as baseless and gone ahead to suspend Ms. Opara for six months.
“Viral reports and pictures of the National Chairman of the Labour Party being hauled to the ground like a common criminal and tossed into a security vehicle has added insults to the public opprobrium that the leadership of the Labour Party had been subjected to in recent times. There are also pending cases of fraud, forgery and misrepresentation against the National Chairman of the Labour Party in various courts and police stations in Nigeria. This is a sour misadventure in political mischief, mismanagement and misdemeanour. The conduct of Mr. Julius Abure and his maladministration of the Labour Party is totally unacceptable to us.
“At the top of the crisis of mismanagement in the Labour Party is the extortionist tendencies by Mr. Abure exemplified by the monetization of the nomination process including the recent outrageous N30 million charged aspirants in the recent Edo State Governorship primary. Amidst the drama plaguing the Labour Party, we are alarmed that it appears that some key leaders of the Labour Party are not concerned about the huge embarrassment, nuisance, and damage to the good image of the Labour Party that their actions constitute. The truth is these scandals do not represent who we are as Labour Party.
“The presidential flagbearer of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi has weighed in on the recent scandals affecting Mr. Julius Abure and has called for a forensic audit into the use of party funds. The leadership of the NLC fully supports the position of Mr. Peter Obi. It is unfortunate that Mr. Julius Abure does not want this to be done before going behind the back of stakeholders in the party to plan for an illegal National Convention.”
Efforts to reach Abure for comment were unsuccessful, and messages to the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, remained unanswered at the time of reporting.
