By Abiola Olawale
The crisis rocking the Labour Party has yet taken a massive turn as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Monday voided the National Convention that produced Barrister Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Party.
The NLC also declared the seats of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party vacant, adding that a transition committee would be constituted to oversee the affairs of the party pending the conduct of a substantive National Convention.
The NLC made this resolution at an emergency meeting which was held in Abuja on Monday.
Present at the meeting are the Chairman of NLC Political Commission, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku; former President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Abdulwahed Omar; Chairman, LP Board of Trustees, Sylvester Ejiofor; Coordinator of Obidient Movement, Dr. Moses Paul and LP Plateau Governorship Candidate, Chief Yohana Margif.
Others are the Coordinator of the Labour Party Patriotic Members Congress, Dr. Kingsley Okundaye; Kaduna LP Governorship Candidate, Jonathan Asake and representative of Persons with Disability in Labour Party, Ihekwoaba Paul.
In the communique issued after the meeting, the unionist also said following the constitution of the transition committee, a forensic audit of the Labour Party would be conducted to investigate allegations of corruption, forgery and fraud levelled against the leadership of the party.
The communique partly read, “Owing to the current vacuum in the leadership of the Labour Party, the NLC Political Commission consequent on its status in the Constitution of the Labour Party as a registered trustee of the Labour Party, a status that was further buttressed by a Federal High Court consent judgment delivered on March 20, 2018, by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, moved for an immediate constitution of a transition committee with a mandate to set up structures at national, state, local government and ward level for the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention of the Labour Party.
“The stakeholders meeting passed a vote of no-confidence on the purported Labour Party national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State and regards as inconsequential the leadership that claims to have emerged from the illegal Nnewi Convention. INEC and all relevant security organisations are hereby notified and should be officially written immediately to recognise the transition committee as the interim leadership of LP pending the conduct of an all-inclusive and expansive national convention
“The committee once constituted should fully take over the secretariats of the Labour Party all over Nigeria and shall immediately set up an assets recovery process of all the properties of the Labour Party. The committee shall also ensure that all the cases of fraud, impersonation and forgery of government documents pending against a few discredited former officers of the Labour Party are forensically audited and culprits are diligently prosecuted as demanded by the leader of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi. It is unfortunate that the actions of these few dishonourable characters have splashed mud on the white satin of the Labour Party.
“Pursuant to the foregoing, the committee shall within three months of its constitution ensure the conduct of an inclusive national convention of the party starting from ward congresses to local government congresses to state congresses culminating in an all-inclusive and expansive national convention in Abuja. Finally, we reiterate that the Labour Party is a Party for all Nigerians regardless of ethnic, religious, regional, social and economic orientation or status.”
