Labour Party: Abure warns Usman, Otti against celebrating recognition by INEC

By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

The leadership of faction of Labour Party led by Julius Abure has warned members of the rival faction led by Abia governor, Alex Otti, Nenadi Usman not to celebrate the recent court judgment that led to its derecognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The Abure faction said this in reaction to the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja and consequent removal the names of its executive members as leaders of Labour Party from the portal of INEC.

INEC had on its website as of Friday recognized Usman as the caretaker committee chairperson of the Labour Party.

It also uploaded Senator Darlington Nwokocha (National Secretary); Hamisu Santuraki (National Treasurer); Aisha Madije (National Financial Secretary), and Eric Ifere (National Legal Adviser as members of the Labour Party NWC led by Usman.

The development followed the January 21 Federal High Court judgment which recognised the Usman-led NWC of the Labour Party.

The court had also sacked Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman.

But the Abure faction, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, on Saturday said the derecognition by INEC will not deter its plans to put up a strong show in the 2027 general election.

It also vowed to ensure that the judgment of the lower court will be upturned at the appellate court.

“We are very sure that it will be quashed on appeal. The celebration of the Abia state governor, Alex Otti, Nenadi Usman and their cohorts on the appearance of their names on the INEC portal will be short-lived. It is for a short time, their victory is pyrrhic and there is nothing to celebrate because the doomsday is closer than they will imagine which I believe will be very catastrophic for them.

“Moreover, it is very clear that the appointment of the caretaker committee did not go through the normal procedure. Proper notice was not given in line with the party constitution and the electoral act.”

The Abure faction of Labour Party also called on Nigerians to rise up against what it described as “the strangulation and monetization of democracy in the country by a few power-drunks in Nigeria, warning that Nigeria may be heading for the precipice if the inordinate ambitions of some politicians are not checked.”

Obiora also called on persons who he said are applauding the impunity by some politicians to retrace and do some introspection

“This was how in the past, they applauded injustice in our democracy because they were beneficiaries. At the end of the day when their enthroned leaders began to abuse power they started complaining.

“For us in Labour Party, our faith is strong that the appellate court will do the right thing and therefore we advice our members to remain calm. We will continue with the struggle to take our party from the godfather.

“Labour Party is a party that is based on social democracy where no one man is permitted to appoint everybody. It is against the principles of the party that one man will sit at a place and gather everybody and appoint everybody from the National Working Committee to the state, down to the ward executive. That is the impunity of the highest order, this I believe negates the principles of the party. If we say there are no party ideology in Nigeria, this is how it starts.