NLC rejects Abure's re-election as LP chairman, calling it an unlawful

Following his re-election, Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, will not receive any acknowledgment from the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

During the party’s national convention on Wednesday in Nnewi, Anambra State, Abure was re-elected as the national chairman of the organization.

The National Working Committee members were all back at the convention as well.

Nonetheless, there were still open seats for the NLC and the Trade Union Congress.

NLC spokesman Benson Upah promised that the congress will never support the party led by Abure in response to the convention’s results.

Upah informed our correspondent that the NLC views the return of the national chairman as an empty gesture and called the convention an empty shell.

He said, “It’s an illegality, a nullity. The whole exercise was a charade! Nothing can legitimise such brazen impunity.”

The NLC head of information responded to a text message asking for labor’s next course of action by writing, “You, wait and see.”

Over the past week, the party’s national convention has produced a lot of heat.

It is believed that at least five people were arrested on Wednesday at the convention center for allegedly trying to incite unrest at the arena.

It was alleged that the individuals detained were disseminating divisive booklets that were critical of the party’s leadership.

In the end, they were turned over to the police to be questioned.

The party declared in a statement co-signed by Abure and his national secretary, Umar Farouk, that Dr. Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, and Peter Obi, the LP’s presidential nominee, were approved to run as the party’s nominees in 2027.

The statement partly read, “The convention in session, based on the antecedents of the presidential candidate before, during and after the 2023 general election, recommended that the 2027 presidential ticket of the party be solely reserved for His Excellency, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, the national leader of the party.

“Furthermore, the convention in session reviewed the ongoing development and performance of its Governor in Abia state, His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, and passed a vote of confidence on him and recommended the 2027 Abia State gubernatorial ticket of the party be reserved for His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti.”

The party’s leadership went on to urge President Bola Tinubu to deal with the growing number of incidences of insecurity that are roiling the country, especially in Kaduna and some other northern regions.

The party further supported the decentralization and reorganization of the policing architecture in order to create state, local, and regional law enforcement agencies.

“The convention in session also noted with concerns the renewed insecurity in the country, especially Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, and other states. The convention hereby calls on the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to secure the lives and properties of Nigerians, which is the primary responsibility of the government.

“We also call for general restructuring of the security architecture to meet up with current security challenges facing the nation. The convention advocated for decentralisation of the Nigerian Police Force to pave the way for regional, state, local, and community policing,” it stated.