By Abiola Olawale
The 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Governor Alex Otti of Abia State have officially communicated with the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, regarding the organization of a fresh national convention aimed at electing a new chairman for the party.
Obi and Otti, in their letter, informed Yakubu of the constitution of a 29-member caretaker committee saddled with the responsibility of organising state congresses and a national convention for the Labour Party.
In the letter, Obi and Otti explained that the decision to constitute the caretaker committee was taken following the leadership crisis rocking the party.
According to them, the National Convention organised by the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party holds no water.
They pointed out that the purported convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, in March 2024 fell short of constitutional standards.
They accused Abure of holding a national convention without first organising ward, local government and state congresses.
In the letter, Obi and Otti also informed INEC that the caretaker committee will organise the party‘s congress and national convention within a period not exceeding 180 days.
The letter reads in part: “You will recall that Labour Party had had a leadership crisis in recent times culminating in the de-recognition of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC effective June 2024. This is a sequel to the settlement brokered by INEC on June 27, 2022.
“A major part of the settlement states that an all-inclusive national convention, preceded by ward, local government and state congresses shall be convened not later than one year after signing the terms of the settlement.
“By March 2024, the Abure-led NWC organised a convention at Nnewi without first organising ward, local government and state congresses. This fell short of the standards and the spirit of the terms of settlement as stated above. In the light of all these, a leadership vacuum arose in the party. In like manner, the National Executive Committee membership got depleted leaving less than 10 members standing.
“Given the above scenario, the statutory executives of the party made up of the governor, deputy governor, and legislators, in addition to all surviving members of NEC, the leadership of organised labour, representatives of governorship candidates in the 2023 election and subsequent ones, presidential and vice presidential candidates in the 2023 election and other party leaders, met in Umuahia, Abia State, on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 a, and set up a caretaker committee to organise congresses and the national convention within a period not exceeding 180 days to fill the vacuum created by the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile leadership of the party at all levels.”
Obi and Otti also informed the INEC chairman that Senator Nenadi Usman and Senator Darlington Nwokocha were appointed by the stakeholders’ meeting as Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of the party’s caretaker committee.
The letter also listed other members of the committee representing critical stakeholders of the party.
They included representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, and Comrade Chris Uyot.
This is coming after the Abure-led NEC had
maintained that there was no vacuum in the leadership of the party after “conducting its National Convention in line with its constitution, the Electoral Act and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on March 27, 2024, at Nnewi Anambra State.”
The Abure-led NEC also stated that it had nullified the decision taken during a meeting convened by Otti in Umuahia, Abia State.
