AfriPulse
The Labour Party made a very impressive showing at the last general election with the Presidential Candidate of the party, Mr. Peter Obi, making appreciable showing as the party garnered over six million votes across the country. This feat runs against earlier predictions of pundits who dismissed the party as merely a social media platform. It is also to the credit of the party that members of the party secured seats at the two chambers of the National Assembly. These strings of successes seem to be evaporating, with the party currently being engulfed in a crisis of confidence. OLAOLU OLADIPO spoke with members of the two factions contesting for the soul of the party. Those who articulated their positions were Comrade Ayo Olorunfemi, a Deputy National Chairman and Comrade Oyelekan Akingbade who is the National Legal Adviser of the Labour Party. Excerpts…..CONTINUE READING
Everyone believed all was well with the Labour Party until recently when some members suspended the National Chairman, Comrade Julius Abure and three others indefinitely from office. As a member of the National Working Committee of the party, can you tell us what really happened?
I want to tell you that all is well within the ranks of the Labour Party but just as with any other family, there is bound to be some little misunderstanding. So, what is happening in the Labour Party has nothing to do with any individual, no! Let me correct the impression that some members of the National Working Committee suspended the National Chairman and the others. What happened was that he was s u s – pended by t h e party in h i s home ward.
The members of the executive committee of his ward who were not happy with the way he has been handling several issues such management of party funds, hobnobbing with the opposition parties and other issues suspended him from the party. This action by the ward executive committee was discountenanced until cases went to court. Members who have one issue or the other against him took him to court. Some members who had emerged as the candidates of the party discovered that all of a sudden, their names disappeared from INEC lists in the portal. Of course, concerns were raised.
These aggrieved members wrote petitions to the I n – spector General of Police who detailed the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force CID, to investigate the allegations contained in the petitions. It was later discovered that those persons’ signatures were forged. Not that alone, affidavits for the withdrawal of these candidates were also forged. Court stamps were also forged.
The court wrote back to the police pertaining to all those facts. From there, the affected members went to court, saying in the light of these facts as established by the police, can the National Chairman and some members of the National Working Committee step aside. They should leave and not continue to be executive members of the party until the determination of the suit. The court restrained them from parading themselves as leaders of the party.
The court stated that they no longer have the leverage and can no longer hold office. At that point, the National Working Committee of the party met and implemented the decision of the court, which was a restraining order to all the parties involved in the suit. What we (NWC members) did was that we elected one of the deputy national chairman, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, to be acting National Chairman pending the outcome of the suits.
Some members of the National Working Committee have continued to fault the meeting that took the decision, saying it lacked quorum. They also stated that the notice for the meeting was not properly served on them…
Let me clear that doubt, we are 18 in the National Working Committee, two people were illegally suspended, one member had died without any replacement. He is the Deputy National Chairman for the North Central. That left us with 15 members. Like I said, the court had restrained four members from parading themselves as members, so we were now left with 11 members. In the end, seven members met to take the decision. For me, that was a quorum.
Was any serious effort made to circulate the notice of the meeting before it took place?
The circular for the meeting was properly and duly circulated to all members of the National Working Committee who should participate at the meeting. The Deputy National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Saleh Lawan, circulated the circular to all the members of the National Working Committee who should be part of the meeting. For those who said they didn’t see the circular, that shouldn’t be an excuse because I know that the circular was properly served. The idea is that those who should meet have met and they formed the required quorum to take the decision. The decision is binding on all of us.
Apart from Comrade Julius Abure, which other member of the National Working Committee of the part has been suspended?
Like I stated before, no member of the National Working Committee of the party has been suspended by the party. What happened was that the party was merely implementing the court order restraining some members of the party that are being sued. The court has stated that the affected members of the party cannot function because of the pending case against them. Those who are involved apart from Abure , Umar Farouk Ibrahim who is the National Secretary, Oluchi Okpara who is the National Treasurer and Clement Ojukwu who is the National Organising Secretary.
Recently, 30 out of the 36 states chairmen of your party threw their weight behind the Abure led National Working Committee of the party. It seems the decision of the NWC is not too popular?
The most important thing is that the court has given a judgement and the order must be obeyed. Let me tell you this, the constitution of the Labour Party does not give the state chairmen any say on this. They lack constitutional basis to make any meaningful impact. They can speak and take action in their various states but not at the national headquarters where they can only have a say when they are invited for the NEC meeting. It is the National Working Committee that will meet before the NEC meeting. The state chairmen are just deceiving themselves.
As a member of the party, aren’t you worried that this crisis could lead to factions in the party?
No! What we have is a situation where a court says don’t act in a certain capacity and we are obeying the order of the court. Based on that order, seven members of the NWC took the decision on behalf of the party. So, those who said they are not happy should know that the decision of the NWC is in line with the constitution of the party. We are worried because some people are already acting in contempt of court by supporting Abure at this level. Once people who have the power have taken a decision on an issue, everybody is bound to obey it.
Don’t you think this decision will impact negatively on the petition of the Presidential Candidate of the party, Mr. Peter Obi, at the election petition tribunal?
What we have done has nothing to do with the petition of our Presidential Candidate at the election petition tribunal. As long as they have obeyed the order of the court, I see no way it would jeopadise the petition of our Presidential Candidate. Mr. Peter Obi is our leader whom we did a lot to get to where he is today. That petition is our collective petition which we are all passionate about.
Is it true that some elements outside the party are fueling the crisis within your party?
As a matter of fact, there is nothing like that at all. What we are going through is a quarrel among family members. The question is, is it some elements outside that have told some elements to forge documents and court papers? There is nothing like those things being peddled at all. Such notions are figments of the imagination of those peddling them.
How do you react to allegations suggesting that the current acting National Chairman has been suspended from the party and that he is constitutionally barred from holding party offices?
(Cuts in) There is nothing like that, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa has never been queried by any organ of the party for any misdemeanor not to talk of having been suspended from the Labour Party. It is just the imagination of some people who want to register their love for the suspended National Chairman of the party at all costs. Alhaji Apapa happens to be one of the very few members who have shown so much commitment to the growth and development of the party in the past. He had served the party in the past in several capacities and has discharged his assignments to the party creditably. From a mere member, he has risen to the position of the vice national chairman for the South West. From there, he has risen to the post of the Deputy National Chairman from where he got to where he is today.
Where do you think this will lead the party in the long run?
This issue will ultimately lead to the growth of the party. I am very hopeful that the party will emerge strong in the end. The reason being that we will remove the wheat from the chaff, in the end, we will give a well-structured party to all Nigerians who want change and progress for the country. In the end, we will bequeath a new Nigeria to Nigerians. We are bringing Peter Obi, a member of integrity, to lead the country to greatness…..CONTINUE READING
Source: NewsHour.ng | Read More
